First Contact
by Darthkvzn
Summary: I met the Avengers. Once. Now, they won't let me go. Not that I want them to, y'know - the tech is out of this world (sometimes literally), the food is unending...and the heroes are alright too, I guess. - Part of my Marvel Universe, Rated T for VERY mild swearing and adult themes. Amazing Spider-Man version of Spider-Man characters, MCU for everyone else. UNDERGOING REWRITE
1. Chapter 1

**It's been like, what, three months? I'd do the whole jazz of apologizing for taking so long to publish, well, anything, but at this point it just boils down to the simple fact that my life cannot handle a writing schedule right now. So please, bear with me. I will never leave a published story unfinished. It's just going to take me some time to finish **

**With that out of the way, please enjoy this short story! You could say it's barely a nibble of the feast that is to come. - Darthkvzn**

**Disclaimer to end all disclaimers: I own nothing but the actual story!**

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The first time I ran into S.H.I.E.L.D., I could not believe my bad luck. It was about four and a half months after I got my powers, and half a year from the formation of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes Who Don't Exactly Go And Help Other Supers.

I may or may not have still been a bit miffed from doing the Lizard thing all by myself, with a bit of Stacy family help, so there.

There I was, innocently swinging around Midtown late at night, wondering what I should get Gwen for Valentine's this year, when some kind of large aircraft began hovering behind me. It had no lights on, no visible markings, and was making very little noise for such a big plane-helicopter thingy. It was obviously following me, so I decided to make contact on my own terms - by going _splat_ on their windshield.

Like the brits (probably) say, I _do_ fancy myself a cheeky bastard.

What I got as a result was a one-eyed glare back from the man in the cockpit, and an _arrow_ of all things pointed at my darling face by a blond dude with purple shades from behind said pirate - er, man.

I held my hands up in surrender, and the aircraft suddenly lurched backward, setting down on the roof of some random building with a heavy thud. I immediately leapt backwards, keeping my hands behind my back, but my fingers tensed and ready for some web slinging action. From the back of the aircraft the two men came out, One-Eyed Goatee exuding a calm attitude, and Blond Errol Flynn tense, much like the bowstring with the arrow he _still_ pointed at me.

-"Whoa there, Merida! We're all friends here, right? Strangers that might be friends...somewhat...eventually, maybe?" -I stuttered, trying to get a feel for their intentions.

The man with the eyepatch snorted, lifting his eyebrow. Non-Beautiful Legolas wasn't amused. "Right, tough crowd. I'm your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" -I pointed a thumb at my chest, then continued. "Got a name, fellas? Or am I going to have to fill in the blanks with more nicknames?" -I asked. Eyepatch guy turned to Mr. Bow &amp; Arrow, and gestured for him to lower his weapon. I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding, but my relief was cut short by the cold, calculating look I got from the guy in the trench coat. I idly wondered how he managed to do that with a single remaining eye, before shaking myself out of my hyperactive train wreck of a thought process.

-"You sound younger than I expected." -the man said. I crossed my arms, annoyed. "Well, excuse me for not living up to your expectations, I suppose."

The man held up his chin, moving his arms behind him. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about my expectations, young man. In fact, I'd say you've taken the bar I set for you, beat up a few assholes with it, and tossed it aside like it was a toothpick. I'd even go so far as to say you're in the big leagues now, kid." -he said, and I thanked my lucky charms (stars?) that my enhanced vision let me see the outraged expression on Bullseye's face, the whole 10 milliseconds it lasted. I rubbed my chin, feigning deep thought.

-"Gee, that sounds important. I don't think Purple Arrow over there is alright with that statement though. Besides, I don't even know your names, or where you came from, or where you got that sweet VTOL of yours." -I said, pointing out the large aircraft. Trench coat guy rolled his eye, turning to the Marksman. "I really hope I'm not going to have to do this every time we meet a potential new guy." -he said, then turned back to face me. "I'm Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and this is Agent Barton, otherwise known as Hawkeye. We're here because we want to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."

You could've heard a pin drop a mile away. I could've heard it all the way down on Malibu, but then again, I'm _special_. Special enough, apparently, to join the Avengers. I didn't know much about S.H.I.E.L.D. other than the fact that they'd been heavily involved with clean-up after the alien invasion, but I did know the Avengers. Like I said, I was a little angry that they hadn't come when Dr. Connors was slithering about. It was my responsibility, for sure, and I meant it when I said as much to Gwen, but thinking back on it, even if I hadn't needed the help (which I could've), Captain Stacy certainly would've. Back before my powers, when the Avengers first formed, I couldn't help but fall in love with the idea of them. Heroes with everyday lives, yet gifted with extraordinary powers that they used to help the innocent and weak (like me, mostly). George Stacy had not been a weak man by any stretch of the imagination, but he _was_ hopelessly outmatched.

Maybe I was blaming the Avengers for my own shortcomings, but I wasn't yet at the stage where I could overcome philosophical challenges like that yet. Hell, I was only 17; my thoughts were probably only centered around Gwen at that time. In any given case, I shook my head; not ten seconds had passed.

-"I'm _really_ sort of sorry, Mr. Fury, but I think I'm going to have to decline. I have something resembling a life outside of my righteous vigilantism, and I'd like to keep it. Besides, I have somewhat of a grudge against your team." -I said, as politely as possible, muttering "No offense." at the actual Avenger in the roof, who rolled his eyes in return. Fury actually smirked.

-"You and half the population of New York. Saving the city doesn't seem to count as much as the billions in property damage." -he said, conversationally. I frowned. "See, that's another thing. I saved the city, too, and didn't wreck half of Midtown in the process. You know what _was_ wrecked though? Captain Stacy's family, when they found out he died being my _only_ help. He's dead so you didn't have to grow scales, and where were you? Where were the Avengers, huh? Why are you trying to recruit someone like me, anyway? The Captain was ten times the man I'll ever be!" -I argued hotly. Fury stiffened, glaring at me.

-"Yeah? Well you're ten times stronger than any normal man can ever be!" -he shouted back.

In my defense, that was exactly the wrong thing to say. Dude must not have been used to handle emotional people in their late teens, because I swear I saw red right then and there. I didn't even think about it, I just shot, almost impossibly fast. Hawkeye first, Director Make-Me-Furious last. I stuck them to the fuselage of their ship, so tightly that they'd probably need someone to come and cut them loose. I walked up to them, fuming.

-"That's just what it is, isn't it. You just need my strength and abilities. You don't care about the people you've recruited, do you? As far as I can tell, they're just means to an end. And noble as that end maybe, I'll have no part in your damned Initiative." -I stated, then cut open a slit for their noses and mouths. I turned around, gathering some speed for jumping, when I heard the Director shout at me.

-"We'll be in touch, Mr. Parker."

Despite the cold feeling in my gut, I forced myself not to acknowledge the man, even knowing that that would not be the last I saw of him.

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**Just a prelude, really. This a small lead-in to a big ol' universe of Marvel related stories I've got for you. Stay tuned! And if you know me from my other, incomplete, fics, don't you worry. I'm back in action and ready to write. See you soon! - Darthkvzn**


	2. Chapter 2

**In my defense, this story _was_ a oneshot. Given that I'm a sucker for my readers, though, it would appear you guys are getting the whole thing now. And, by the whole thing, I mean the barebones beggining of the whole thing. Then again, that's for me to know, and you to eventually read *cackles madly* - Darthkvzn**

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I would not meet S.H.I.E.L.D. again for a very long time, thankfully. Given that their organization seemingly collapsed into the Triskelion in D.C. (and various other super secret spy places around the world, apparently), I thought myself freed from their influence. With what Gwen and I had managed to piece together about the shadowy agency, plus the, admittedly, heavily redacted files that were disseminated all throughout the Internet (which trended on social media within three seconds of the upload), I felt pretty vindicated about my decision to ignore the big, bad, pirate man. I almost convinced myself that I had imagined that last line Fury uttered, and that my identity was still, mostly, a secret, known only to a very traumatized (and incarcerated) Doctor Connors, and my darling girlfriend. Even _if_ the Director had known who I was, my name was nowhere to be seen in any of the files Natasha Romanoff uploaded that fateful day.

That the Black Widow would be the heroine of 'hacktivist' groups all around the world, was just one of the many marvels I would experience in my lifetime.

In any given case, I'd dodged a bullet with Fury. I tried to lay low after it, I really did. And though my luck held for a while (by which I mean I was still mostly unscathed and/or healed really fast), I should've known it wouldn't last, because then the Avengers started showing up.

Even through my useless grudge, I knew I admired them. They weren't called Earth's Mightiest Heroes for no reason, after all. Tony Stark was, of course, the most recognizable of them all. For a while, before the hundreds of blurry videos of the Battle of Manhattan made their way to the Web (tee hee), his "I am Iron Man" speech was the most viewed non-music video of all time. The sheer audacity, fame, and wealth of the man was enough to make him noticeable; the insane, flying, powered armor was just the icing on the cake. The man was a master engineer, a shrewd businessman, and according to every person who had met him, the wittiest man on Earth. A man after my own heart, really.

While Steve Rogers' face might not have been as recognizable, the star spangled shield and flag-themed costume he wore as Captain America was, along with the hero himself, quite literally the stuff of legends. All of us learned about the Captain's fight against the Nazis in World War II due in no small part to the History courses in middle school, and the tales any american grandparent would spin, if you gave them the chance. As american as apple pie and baseball, the good Captain remained a staple in pop culture even in my childhood, seventy-odd years later. It would only intensify with his seemingly inexplicable reappearance.

Robert Bruce Banner had been on mine, and much more notoriously, Gwen's radar for quite some time. We were, after all, top of our classes, and Dr. Banner was likely one of the, if not _the_ most intelligent man on Earth. His areas of expertise may have been a little out of my league at the time, but Gwen basically idolized the man. It got worse after the Chitauri came, and almost everyone just 'went with it' when he took a level in badass in the revelation that he was, in fact, the Hulk. My girlfriend may or may not have taken a level in fangirl, as well.

The mythology defying Norse God of Thunder was, clearly, a fan favorite. Given that I was pretty scrawny (though not at all weak), the whole muscley armored-type image he gave off wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but no one could argue with his results. No one really knew if Thor Odinson was a veritable god, but, carrying that monstrously powerful mallet (every Home Depot basically salivated over it), no one was likely to ask.

Little was known of the mysterious Black Widow other than the testimonials from survivors of the alien attack, and a fairly large amount of, frankly, extremely ridiculous urban legends from all over the world. While the survivors tended to stick to the version of a fierce, strong, and dangerous woman with incredible acrobatic skills, the urban legends went a little off the deep end with tales of a half human, half spider woman (HEY) that had been sent from Russia (with love) to mate with one president or other, then allow the Kremlin to rule us with an iron fist. Gwen especially got a kick out of another that placed her as Spider-Man's mother; I just shuddered.

Equally unknown, and, thankfully, with little to no urban legends to his name, Hawkeye rounded out the Avengers' roster. Blessed with _incredibly_ good vision, yet a poor common sense for weapon choosing, the modern day archer had a cult following in the form of outdoorsy women, guys and gals with a thing for broad-shouldered, narrow waisted men, and the entire roster of the World Federation of Archery. I, for one, appreciated at least his insane courage in fighting deadly aliens brandishing energy weapons with trick arrows.

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, I did meet them all.

It wasn't one by one, either. I just wanted to let you know how the public (aka younglings like Gwen and I) viewed them. I didn't meet them all at once, either; after the conflict in New York, and at least until after the debacle at the Triskelion, they were never seen all together at once again. Hell, for a couple of disconcerting weeks after his mansion on Malibu was destroyed, we all thought Tony Stark was dead, but then he turned up somewhere in the Middle East, busting up the Mandarin's operation, and coming back with two armored buddies to boot. Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes was somewhat known by the public due to being the only U.S. sponsored hero War Machine, sure, but the woman in armor was a total unknown for a while. When she introduced herself as Rescue a month later, Gwen totally went gaga for her. She was very vocal (y'know, in her room, with a sum audience of me) about there being more female heroes, and I totally agreed with her. It helped, admittedly, that she looked badass as hell, with that deep red, gleaming silver color scheme.

My girlfriend was actually the first of us to meet an Avenger in person. It wasn't exactly glamorous either, but we both agreed it made it all the more special.

Gwen met Thor at Target.

I was, sadly, fighting petty street thugs, the likes of which, I'm happy to say, had diminished substantially since I'd started my career as the Web-Slinger. Gwen was well aware of my cravings after a long night, so she was used to stocking some of my favorite snacks (Spider-Man would endorse Cool Ranch Doritos in a heartbeat, given the chance) in her apartment. That night, her mother and brothers had been away at Gwen's grandmother's house for the weekend, so we'd arranged for me to stay over at her place (to cuddle and play videogames, of course, dear readers). In a fit of brilliance that seriously made me think Flash had been cloned and replaced, the bully-turned-friend had offered to cover for me with my aunt, letting her think I'd gone away with him to some three day long geek convention a couple of hours away. I don't think Aunt May bought it for a second, but she accepted the explanation as ambiguous enough, and let me go anyway. I still owe Flash big-time, but he's never cashed in. He's unlikely to for a few, very awesome, very classified reasons.

In any case, as Gwen tells it, she was checking out the snack aisle when she spotted some insane sale that combined my Doritos, and any flavor of Pop Tarts for a lower price. Knowing her mother indulged her brothers with the sugary treats anyway, she headed to the pastry section, only to find the Mighty Thor pushing a tiny cart with every single box of Pop Tarts in the store. Mind you, this was the graveyard shift, so no one else was really there. Gwen just stared in amazement at the freak phenomenon, until Thor spotted her.

She said (more like giggle-spoke), and I quote: "He gave me this thousand-watt smile *insert snort*, with a mouth full of frosting and crumbs, before bowing over his arm and mumbling something along the lines of 'Evening, fair lady'."

The Thunderer then left towards the cash register, leaving behind a mostly empty aisle, a few fallen boxes of unhealthy pastries, and my thunderstruck girlfriend (not literally, or I would have a bit of an issue with Thor, for sure).

In the end, I guess I ended up the winner of the situation. Because, while we didn't do anything rated R that weekend (_obviously_), my extremely excited significant other was happy about everything those three days. I didn't even have to hide the stab wound in my leg, she was so jolly.

I would never not be grateful about my tendency towards bad luck, instead of it befalling Gwen, but even she had to admit I really had it bad. The first Avenger I met, unfortunately, played on that. Oh, not the hero himself, but rather the situation.

Stay awhile and listen, because I'm gonna tell you the tale of when I teamed up with the Captain against HYDRA.

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**Alright, if you've made it this far, I owe you some plot explanations, I suppose. Every film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is (head)canon until Iron Man 3, which takes a drastic deviation, but still more or less the same end result. Captain America 2 happens as is, too. This story takes place all along the way. Amazing Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man 2 are canon, until the Clocktower scene, after which it's AU territory, baby. If you have any doubts, don't you dare leave them unvoiced! Ask of me and you shall receive, spoiler-free.**

**I would ask, however, that you shoot a review this way if you were so inclined. This is my first time actually writing Spidey, and I'd hate not to portray him acceptably. I would love to know your thoughts on this story! Until next time - Darthkvzn**


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: Copious amounts of fanboy Peter Parker ahead. - Darthkvzn**

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Many people, when faced with meeting a celebrity they've followed or wanted to meet for a long time, suffer from nervousness, stuttering, and uncontrollable sweating.

Spider-Man, always a man of the people, suffers from exactly the same things, plus fanatical fascists in the sewers of New York. It's not the kind of thing that gets better for you the more it happens, I regret to say.

Unlike many other of my encounters with bad guys, this didn't come out of the blue. A theft incident had happened at OsCorp during nighttime, something that had been passed off by their media executives as an attempt, averted by their guards and security systems. That, in itself, was pretty fishy; OsCorp didn't have _guards_ so much as they had _hired guns_. Ultimately, having an insider (aka girlfriend) in OsCorp proved to be, once again, a life saver. Gwen heard rumors that an experimental serum had been taken from the building's vaults, something to do with that gnarly fungus that takes over ants and makes them zombies.

Zombie ants being, of course, something that OsCorp thought was an excellent idea. Endless house of horrors, those guys, but at least they had nice dental. I would not condone Gwen's internship there otherwise.

In any case, I kept my eye open for trouble in the form of undead insects, which would likely be turned gigantic, with my luck. One night, while on patrol, I spotted an unmarked, black SUV. This being New York, it could mean anything from a high ranking politician, to the Kingpin. Gwen was busy with homework, and I had about three hours left until I absolutely had to be home, so I figured I'd stay on the safe side.

My luck, rotten as it is, led me to an abandoned building in West Harlem. I stalked inside the building, following the black van's destination. The inside looked like some sort of warehouse, properly maintained, and filled with crates. At least a dozen men, armed to the teeth, patrolled the place. I was quiet enough that they didn't hear or see me, even if my outfit was...poorly suited for infiltration purposes. The van had parked right in the middle of the building, and out of it walked three men in what looked like lab coats, and a woman with dark green hair, and a rather large chemical burn on the left side of her face. My Spidey-sense went into high alert as soon as I saw her.

My Spidey-sense (Extrasensory Perception, Gwen insists) is rather odd. In combat, it works great; I get to dodge things I haven't even seen, shoot webs without aiming, and just generally move better than most of my opponents. Outside of it, though, it might as well be a stereotypical young lady with PMS. Sometimes it warns me, sometimes it says: 'You know what? I think I'll take a nap and let the kid handle himself'.

As you can probably imagine, I have a deep, complicated, love/hate relationship with my Spidey-sense.

In any case, I knew Sailor Pluto down there was bad news. I didn't fancy my chances against her, though, not with this many armed men in a relatively tight space. Plus, for all I knew, Lean Mean and Green below me was likely an enhanced human.

As it turned out, I didn't have to find out.

Three small spheres broke through the darkened glass in the roof, exploding into smoke in the floor. I could hear the indignation of the people below, and the barks of orders to shoot at the roof. My eyes widened behind my white lenses, and I leaped to the farthest corner, punching the lights out of a mook in the way.

What came next, I can't really do justice in descripting.

A single man charged in, holding a large, circular piece of metal. He threw it at a seemingly random angle, but my heightened senses saw his brilliant maneuver; the disc bounced off a metallic crate, glanced three people with enough force to knock them unconscious, then landed at the attacker's hand just in time to block some bullets. He then threw the disc upwards, distracting everybody for a tiny second, in which he sprinted madly toward a few other enemies, taking a gun from one, shooting another one in the foot, then throwing it forward in an impossible angle, so the shield bounced ever so slightly against it, and came rolling along towards him. He picked it up, threw it again, knocked another couple of guys out, and held a stance against the haphazardly organized remaining baddies, which stood in front of sexy Oompa Loompa.

Forget video games and fighting combos. Captain America had hand-to-hand combat down to a T.

The woman stepped forward, a scowl marring what remained of her, admittedly, beautiful face. "Captain. I must say, you're earlier than we expected you." -she said with a _totally_ fake german accent.

The man in question seemed to smirk, oozing confidence I wish I had. "I left a lady hangin' once, ma'am. Not repeating that mistake." -he said. I felt there was a story behind that, but _damn_, the Sentinel of Liberty was smooth. The woman scoffed, derisively. "Was it not, then, a mistake to attack us despite being severely outnumbered and outmatched, Captain Rogers?" -she asked, fake sympathy dripping off her voice. The Captain shrugged.

-"Outnumbered, sure. Outmatched? I'll respectfully disagree." -he said, and an arrow flew straight past me, embedding itself in Krusty the Genderbent Clown's shoulder. Her eyes bulged, and she fell to the ground, seemingly unable to move a muscle. The Avenger quickly leaped into action, knocking out two more dudes with the shield, and punching another one in the face, hard enough for bone to break. Only two remained, and so I decided to at least meet the man with something to show for it, shooting a couple of webs at each of the men, and tangling them enough that the Captain only had to grab both their heads and knock them together, without missing a beat.

I landed next to him, successfully resisting the growing urge to grovel and whimper 'NOT WORTHY, NOT WORTHY!' at his feet. He fixed the iconic shield at his back, and turned to me, taking his helmet off.

I kid you not, I almost did the same thing, before I remembered that Captain Rogers no longer had a secret identity, and I kind of still had mine intact. _Starstruck nitwit,_ I thought to myself.

-"Spider-Man. Steve Rogers. Good to meet you." -he said, offering his hand. I blinked a couple of times (not that he knew), before returning the handshake. "Oh, hey. I'm Spider-Man. Er, you know that already. _Wow_, I am not exactly at the top of my word with games. I mean game with words. Anyway, umm, nice work, kudos and all that." -I trailed off, awkwardly. The man raised his eyebrow (perfectly symmetrical, like the rest of his face, and _why I noticed that I don't know_). I let go of his hand way too long after what was probably socially appropriate, and he winced slightly, stretching his hand.

-"Strong handshake. Just try not to use it on anyone else. They might not like the crushed bones." -he chastised good-naturedly. I blushed to the roots of my hair (again, not that he knew), and nodded feverishly. "Yup. I mean nope." -I said, before slapping myself. The Captain looked a little concerned at me. "_Anyway_, what did these guys do to deserve the full disc-throwing treatment?" -I asked. To his credit, the Captain remained stoic.

-"These guys are HYDRA operatives, son. We've been tracking them for a few months, ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. was dismantled. We're looking for someone, and this woman is our latest lead." -he said, gesturing to the paralyzed woman at our feet.

-"You mean 'we' as in the Avengers, sir? And who is she, that she's so important? Red Skull's daughter-in-law, or just the next entry in color coded Nazi villains?" -I asked, unable to contain my witty sarcasm. The Captain looked at me strangely, but shrugged. I swore I heard a chuckle in his earpiece.

-"Sort of, Madame Hydra, no, and pretty much." -he listed. "Sort of, as in only Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon and myself. Viper here is a high ranking HYDRA agent; I don't know that Schmidt ever had any children, and yes, they do seem to like brightly colored henchmen, don't they?" -he mused. I snorted, and he looked at me quizzically. "Sorry, it's just...I didn't expect you to banter with me." -I said, holding back my laughter. He shrugged.

-"Avenger Tower's main exports are heroes, tech I could never hope to understand, and dry wit. I kind of had to roll with the punches after the first few weeks." -he explained. I nodded appreciatively, and he smiled at me. He rummaged through some of his belt pockets, and pulled out a card, handing it to me. "Here", he said. "That's my personal phone number. If you need anything, let me know. And feel free to consider paying a visit to the Tower. Hawkeye tells me Fury tried to get you in with us, but he didn't handle it how he should've?" -he half asked, half stated. I took the card hesitantly.

-"That's...an understatement. I was a little too inexperienced, and he was a little too demanding. I didn't take it well, then." -I said, rubbing the back of my head. "I _thwipped_ them to their ship." -I admitted shyly. He cocked his head quizzically. "_Thwipped_ them?" -he asked. I shot a web at one of the downed men to show him what I meant, coincidentally stopping him from reaching for his sidearm. The downed man grunted in exasperation, and the Captain barked a laugh, understanding the reference.

-"Oh, man, Clint is _never_ living that down. Anyway, it was nice to meet you. I gotta go, but take care of yourself, Spider-Man. You do good work." -he said, walking out of the warehouse and leaving me gobsmacked.

I crashed into two buildings, five advertisements, and a tree on the way home that night.

Gwen was simultaneously fangirling and swatting me in the head for getting involved in a gunfight with HYDRA when I told her the next day. I, myself, thought it was one of the coolest nights ever, even if I did come across as a fanboy (which I was, but not the point).

Meeting Captain America sowed a tiny seed of an idea in my head. If the leader of the Avengers thought I did good work, did that mean he viewed me as an equal? Did any of them? I was still just a little bit resentful about the Lizard debacle, but Captain Rogers had shown me that he thought I could handle most things on my own, and that he was willing to help me when I couldn't. I held onto his card, though I didn't do anything with it for a long time, hiding it away in my closet.

I regretted not carrying it around with me not two months later.

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**Cliffy the Cliffhanger is back in action! Shoot me a review if you have the time, please! - Darthkvzn**


	4. Chapter 4

**Brace yourselves, this is a bit darker than usual. Also, minor spoilers for Age of Ultron. - Darthkvzn**

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There are many theories in the Internet surrounding who the Spider-Man is. Being the responsible sort-of-adult that I am, I check them all out. They're mostly filled with crackpots, but you never know when someone's been following you around, waiting to snap a picture of you changing into your Spider-skivvies.

Most people believe I use a mask so the authorities won't catch me. While, at the start, that might've been part of the reason, it no longer bears any truth. New York's finest know better than to consider me a criminal now, and the late George Stacy played no small part in ensuring my freedom in working with law enforcement. Though there'll always be the odd one or two stick-in-the-muds that don't like that the police work with a vigilante, they are severely outnumbered. I hear even the mayor likes me, these days.

There are other theories of course. Gwen and I keep a list of our favorites; there's the one about my face being horribly disfigured. Maybe I have weird, arachnid eyes, or venomous spit. Like I said, crazy, cuckoo people come with the territory. Thankfully, the vast majority stay online.

It's because of the ones that don't that I wear a mask. If it was just me, I wouldn't hesitate to sport my Parker grin to every fight. Heck, at least I would be able to properly convey vital facial expressions, like eye-rolling and disgust.

The fact of the matter is, I'm not alone. I have an aunt to take care of, who works extra hours just to make ends meet, never mind living comfortably. I have a best friend in the form of a previous bully, who I'd no longer wish any harm upon. And of course, I have a darling girlfriend I dream of marrying someday, way in the future, assuming I don't die horribly in a hero-related accident.

I'd love to tell you my identity is as airtight as a space-rated Ziploc bag, but it's really not. I'm aware of it. S.H.I.E.L.D. figured it out quickly enough. Captain Stacy forced it out of me. My first supervillain figured it out when I stupidly left behind my camera to photograph his beastly form.

I'm pretty sure my Aunt knows, but we skirt around the subject so much, I can only assume.

Worse still, I knew my fears were not without basis. A couple of months before I met Captain America, the C.E.O. of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, and, most importantly, Tony Stark's girlfriend, was targeted by a terrorist organization, and injured in an attempt on her life. It never even was about her. They did it to get at Iron Man, to crumble his resolve; I just didn't expect it to get at me, too. The incident was largely publicized, and it raised a ton of questions, of whether the life of a superhero was truly viable, or even necessary. Many psychologists were of the opinion that the tendency to sacrifice oneself for the greater good created sociopaths, who never again could fit into society at large. Very grim stuff. Nothing, of course, compared to the damn Clock Tower incident.

To spare you the boring stuff, a brief summary: after seeing the dangers of hero relationships, I stupidly decided to break up with my girlfriend, regardless of her conscious and informed choice to stay in my life, danger or not. I unwittingly managed to worsen a mentally ill man's condition, giving motive, if not rise, to a very powerful supervillain. Add to that estranging my long time friend, even with a good motive, creating yet _another_ supervillain, and you have the second worst week in Peter Parker's life. No need for seasoning.

It all climaxed in a fight to the death with the self-dubbed Electro, where I barely managed to beat him by overcharging him like a battery. All thanks to my failed experimentation, and Gwen's insanely specific knowledge of the city's power grid. I thought I'd won. Gwen had thought so, too.

Then came the mad cackles of my former best friend.

Maybe if I'd given him my blood, I'd have stemmed this situation before it escalated. Maybe I should've trusted him to do the right thing before he went into 'desperate times...' mode.

Maybe I shouldn't have tried to get back with Gwen.

Even in his deranged state, Harry figured who Spider-Man was nearly instantaneously. And, almost in the same time frame, he decided to get revenge for my refusal to help him by taking it out on my girlfriend. Cue _another_ fight to the death.

I defeated him. Knocked him out like a light, all while keeping Gwen relatively safe. It took all my concentration and effort, but I managed it. Or, at least, I thought I had. Of course the fricking web didn't hold when I most needed it too.

I saw it all in slo-mo, my mind calculating the physics I'd have to pull off in order to save her. The math was not in my side, much like my luck. Foot by foot, she was getting closer to unsaveable territory, and the only way to save her would likely have her hating me for it.

I preferred a Gwen alive to loathe me, to a Gwen dead for loving me.

I shot a web at her sternum, smack-dab in the middle of her chest. If I'd had more time, I'd have shot at her center of mass, to prevent the risk of snapping her neck in the bounce back. With how far we'd already fallen, I didn't have that luxury, and I knew it. A split-second decision. The tip of the web, accelerating faster than either of us were falling, clung to her chest, and I pulled back with all my might.

She still hit the floor, with a sickening _crunch_.

I stared at her form, dangling from my web, while hanging from my own. The fear had hit my gut with a delayed effect, but I knew the next few seconds were crucial. She wasn't moving, but I knew I had to. Securing her web-string to the other one, I went down, landing hard, and probably spraining an ankle. For all I knew and cared, I'd broken it.

I felt my eyes water, refusing to admit what they were seeing. Her chest stayed still, and I felt my world end, right then and there. Taking my mask off, I gingerly cut the string, laying her on my lap, hugging her and sputtering out her name between choked sobs.

Then I felt it. The warm air past my ear. Soft, to be sure, but still, there. My eyes bulged out, and I looked at her, frantically taking off my glove so I could feel a pulse.

I'd never been so happy in my life to feel a heartbeat.

Gwen was alive for the moment. That's all I could think, all that my mind seemed able to process in that moment. She hadn't died, and my world was still intact, even if it was barely holding on by a thread.

I set her down on the ground, shaking my head almost as strongly as my hands were trembling. I had to snap out of it soon, or my relief would not last long. I tried to think about my options. I couldn't move her, so I couldn't take her anywhere. Waiting for an ambulance was too slow, and thus completely out of the question. I was just a moment shy of a frustrated scream when I recalled the Captain's card.

I would sell my soul to the devil if it would save Gwen. For an angel? I would give it all.

Taking Gwen's phone out of her jacket, I dialled the only number I knew by memory, outside of 911.

-"Hello, this is May Parker speaking." -answered my aunt, and I could've kissed her right then and there.

-"Aunt May, it's Peter. I need you to do something very important, please." -I said urgently.

-"Peter? What are you doing with Gwen's phone?" -she asked worriedly. "She's here Aunt May. She's dying, and I need your help." -I said. I heard a choked gasp on the other end of the line.

-"Dying? Peter, what's going on?" -she asked, her voice mounting into a panic.

-"I need you to listen very carefully. I want you to go to my room, break down the door however you can, and go into my closet." -I instructed. I heard a brief 'ok', followed by sounds of hurried movement. One, two, three loud hitting noises later, I heard my aunt's labored breathing again.

-"Ok, I'm in. Jesus, Pete, why do you need this much security?" -she asked.

-"You're about to find out, Aunt May. I need you to look into the first costume on your right, and fish a card out of the interior pocket in the left boot." -I said, regardless of my inner voice screaming at me to shut up. Sure enough, a second gasp was heard, followed by quick sounds of ruffling. "I...I got it Peter. It's a card with the name Steven Grant Rogers. This...is Captain America's number?" -she asked, her voice wavering. My respect for my aunt went several notches up. She was handling this like a trooper.

-"Yeah. I need you to give me that number right away." -I said, and she did as she was asked. I couldn't afford to wait any longer, so I hung up, immediately dialing the other number.

-"Spider-Man, are you ok? What's going on in New York? There's a lot of…" -he started. My gut went down immediately again. He wasn't in the city? Had I just doomed Gwen by doing this?

-"Captain, sir, I need your help. I'm...ok. But my girlfriend isn't. She's very hurt, and I don't know what to do. I can't move her! Please, I can't let her d-die!" -I said, stammering at the end. I'm not ashamed to admit I was crying again at that point.

-"Just calm down, son. I'm sending help your way, immediately. Just don't shoot when you see us, ok?" -he half asked, half ordered. I was about to ask what he meant when my Spidey-sense warned me that something was happening at my 9 o' clock.

I can't exactly describe what I saw. It was a beautiful, yet terrifying vortex of red and black, as if the air had spontaneously decided it wanted to become a tiny, angry black hole. From it, a beautiful, dark haired woman emerged, flanked by a man in a vaguely familiar suit of powered armor at her right, and the welcome sight of a blond man with an iconic shield.

The vortex dissipated, and the woman fell to the ground, gasping. The man in the armor, now identified as War Machine, tended to her, while the Captain immediately ran to us.

-"Tell me what's the situation." -he ordered immediately. I described it as best as I could with a cracking voice. He knelt down, checking for life signs. When he winced, I felt the fear rise in my throat.

-"I won't lie to you, she's in a bad way. But I think we can help her out." -he said, then turned to the woman, who was barely getting back on her feet. "Wanda, can you get us back to base?" -he asked. The woman scowled, shaking her head in the negative. "Best I can do is place a stasis charm on her and teleport somewhere nearby." -she said with a thick, eastern European accent.

The Captain considered this for a moment, rubbing his chin. He then tapped his ear. "Vision, tell Tony he's got incoming. Critically wounded, and in need of immediate attention." -he said. He then nodded at the woman, the one they called Wanda, who came up, and looked me in the eyes. "I will not let her die. This, I swear." -she said, solemnly. I nodded, and she turned to Gwen, her eyes turning a deep, burning scarlet. A shimmering red veil surrounded Gwen's body, and, like before, a maelstrom of red and black engulfed them, transporting them somewhere else.

Whatever happened next, I had no control over, but I still felt the guilt and worry eating me away. I felt a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I looked up at Captain America's smiling face.

-"Don't worry son. Stark has some of the best medical facilities and personnel in the world in the tower. Plus, a girl like her? She's a fighter. She'll make it." -he said, and I couldn't help but give a tiny chuckle at the truth of that statement.

-"How'd you know?" -I asked. He laughed good-naturedly. "Being the Spider-Man's girlfriend? Your girl _has_ to be a trooper. It's practically in the job description." -he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I covered my face in embarrassment, feeling my bare face. Then it hit me.

-"Oh, crud. The mask…" -I said, nervous. The Captain held up a hand, giving it to me. "No worries, son. Until you're up for a good talk, none of us saw a thing." -he said, and War Machine nodded his assent. These were good people, that much I knew. They were Avengers, and even if the media was not very happy with them after the Sokovia debacle a couple of weeks ago, I knew their hearts were in the right place. It wasn't all that hard a decision, in the end.

-"There's...no need for that. I'm Peter. Peter Parker." -I said, the words feeling alien to me while wearing the suit. I held up a hand. "Nice to meet you. And thank you." -I said shakily. He smiled, returning the handshake.

-"It's nice to meet you too, Peter. I'm Steve Rogers, but please, call me Steve." -he said, and for the first time since this nightmare of an evening started, I felt a little more relaxed.

The heavy metal footsteps of War Machine reached us, and he, too, shook my hand. "Colonel James Rhodes, at your service. Though Rhodey is fine for conversation." -he said, smiling. I nodded, committing it to memory. "Why does my scanner say there's someone at the top of the tower?" -he asked.

To be honest, I'd forgotten all about Harry.

-"Because there is." -I said, my voice tight. Steve glanced at Rhodey's eyes worriedly. "Did he cause this?" -he asked cautiously. I nodded, gritting my teeth. War Machine flew up before either of us could say a thing. After a few sounds of scuffle, he came back down, holding tightly a snarling Osborn.

-"Face recog's having some trouble, but he looks kind of like that Osborn kid." -he said. Harry's eyes bulged out and he actually growled, spit spilling everywhere from his manic grin.

-"_**OSBORN IS DEAD! DEAD, DEAD, LIKE THE BITCH WHO HIT HER HEAD! OHHH, I'VE BEEN A BAD-**_"

I stopped him. With my fist. I'd never felt this angry in my life, not even when trying to catch Uncle Ben's killer. Steve looked at me, trying to ascertain if I'd do something more drastic, but he seemed satisfied when I made no further moves. Rhodey pulled out some heavy duty cuffs from a compartment in the armor, slapping them on Harry's wrists, then carelessly tossing him to the floor.

The roar of a jet engine came over us, and a Quinjet hovered a couple of yards above ground. Out of it came a man with red and grey vest and red goggles, and a redheaded woman in a black bodysuit. Steve gestured at me to go. "Get to the tower. Be with your girlfriend. We'll take care of Osborn, then join you there. And Peter? You did great." -he said. I nodded, walking over to the VTOL. The woman smirked, and the man smiled broadly.

-"Hi, Peter, I'm Natasha, and this is Sam. We have...good news and bad news. Your girlfriend, she's out of critical condition." -she said, and I nearly fainted in relief.

There were, however, bad news.

* * *

**Not gonna lie, that cliffhanger is pretty evil. Every time I've seen something Spider-Man related, there's this tendency towards mood whiplash. It'll be happy and optimistic, then a tragedy will turn the story dark. This, I think, covers that aspect. I couldn't kill off Gwen. I've never liked Mary Jane, and the chemistry shown in the movies convinced me that she should survive. Whether she comes out of this unscathed or not, though...is a spoiler. So you'll have to wait, I'm afraid. I get that Gwen's death is supposed to be a powerful motivator, and a driving force behind Peter's paranoia in regard to his identity, and his general behavior. I think I can achieve that without condemning one of my favorite characters to death. I hope you'll agree with me.**

**By the way, this story is almost done. One more chapter, then we move on to a sequel. Not bad for something supposed to be a oneshot, don't you think? Shoot me a review, if you'd be so kind! I'd like to see this bombshell's aftermath :D - Darthkvzn**


	5. Chapter 5

**Read the author's note at the bottom, please! I hope you enjoy! - Darthkvzn**

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The trip back to Midtown felt much longer than it should be. A tiny part of my mind was a bit gleeful at the thought of catching the ride in the high tech VTOL I'd always dreamed, but I was too deep into shock to enjoy it. The other passengers seemed to be very cautious about contact with me. I couldn't exactly blame them, with my reaction to the _bad_ news.

"_I'm sorry, Peter."_, the Falcon had said, "_While our medics were able to stabilize her, the injury she sustained to her lower back pretty much wrecked some of her spine and her pelvis."_, he'd clarified, putting a steady hand to my shoulder. I put my mask back on, unwilling to let them see my reaction. I had a vague idea of what might follow as soon as the Widow turned to look at me with a slightly pained expression, but I couldn't have imagined how badly it would affect me.

Words have power. They say names have much more. I dunno who actually _says_ it, but _they_ do. I guess they meant it for, like, gods and demons, but it translates well enough to the modern world. Superheroes have it rough, for example. The names we bear are a symbol, not only of our power, dedication, and motivation, but also a reminder that we are, essentially, replaceable. There's only one Steve Rogers, but I guarantee that, in the future, there'll be another man wearing the cowl and bearing the shield of Captain America. Same goes for me, though I don't know how they'll replace the spider powers. Tech and/or space magic, probably.

In any case, names _do_ have power.

_Paraplegia_, is what the Widow said. She was blunt about it, which I'm thankful for. She didn't skirt around the edges, or try to break it down to me like I was five years old. I guessed it was a russian thing.

The woman they called Wanda got her to Stark's tower just in time to save her life, they said. I was infinitely grateful, and I'd make it up to her, somehow. Probably when I snapped back into the real world. When Natasha said the word, my world froze up. Like those cartoon representations of a warring mind, two sides sprung up.

_She's alive!_, said Optimist Peter.

_And what a life she'll lead_, said Pessimist Parker.

As you might imagine, I didn't much like Pessimist Parker. He was _that_ guy at parties.

A few _clunks_ got me out of my catatonic state. I blinked a couple of times, looking at three very worried (and one slightly amused) superheroes. Natasha, Sam and Wanda bore varying degrees of concern in their faces. The infamous Tony Stark was looking at me like I was a very interesting piece of tech, an armored hand in a knock-knock gesture close to my head.

-"Did you just knock on my head?" -were my first words to the world's leading technology expert. Tony smirked. "Well, I did try without the gauntlet, but you're _kinda_ thick-headed." -he responded. I scoffed, unwilling to admit how close I was to breaking down in hysterical giggling. I very much doubted the concern in those heroic faces would fade if I did.

An asian looking woman (korean or chinese, maybe?) walked into the room, holding a very advanced looking tablet. Everyone toward her, expectantly.

-"Hello, Spider-Man," -she said, "I'm Dr. Helen Cho. I'm the Avengers' Chief Physician. I'd like to speak to you about the patient and her diagnosis. Maybe you'd like to speak with me alone?" -she introduced herself. I swallowed. I certainly wasn't ready, but, much like the Widow's method, I'd rather rip it off, like the world's most painful Band-Aid.

-"If it's all the same to you, I'd, uh, be fine. Here, I mean." -I answered. The doctor nodded. "Very well. I assume Miss Romanoff already briefed you on the general diagnosis of paraplegia, but I'd like to clarify it nonetheless. We have identified her as Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy, is that correct?" -she asked. I resisted the urge to glare at her. Gwen hated her full name.

-"Yes."

Dr. Cho nodded. "And your relationship to Miss Stacy would be?" -she asked.

I gulped. Not half an hour ago, only two people (and maybe a defunct spy agency) had known my secret identity. Right now, the count very likely stood at eight or so, and quickly rising. I seriously hoped that wouldn't come back to bite me in the tuchus.

-"She's my girlfriend. Though, for obvious reasons, the general population doesn't know." -I answered. The doctor raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

-"Ok. Well, Miss Stacy is currently stable, though we're still operating on her spinal column and her pelvis, trying to rescue as much nerve tissue and bone marrow fluid as we can, as well as setting the broken bones to the best of our abilities. Preliminary and full scans show, unfortunately, that the shattering of the lower lumbar discs and the sacrum severed several key nerve endings to the patient's lower body." -she paused, looking at me sadly. "I'm sorry to say it, but it is quite likely Miss Stacy will never walk again." -she declared.

It hurt. Much more than I could care to admit. This was my fault, and I couldn't seem to think otherwise. Dr. Cho looked at me, pursing her lips. "Spider-Man, whatever you might be thinking...you saved Gwendolyn's life. If you'd shot even slightly lower, closer to her abdomen? Anywhere else, really, she _would_ have _died_." -she said, and I knew it was true.

It didn't, sadly, make it any less painful.

I could practically _feel_ the ghost of George Stacy deciding to haunt me until the day I died for ignoring his last request, Gwen's decision to stay with me notwithstanding.

A low rumble of jets betrayed the arrival of the remaining Avengers. Sure enough, the Captain and War Machine came in, Rhodey shedding his armor as soon as he was inside the building.

-"Evening, everyone." -he said, scanning the large room we were all in. I took a second to actually look at it, my brain desperately grasping at distractions to prevent from falling into shock. It was very spacious, and felt very open, with thick glass panels (which I bet were Hulk-proof) all around us, a comfortable lounge, and a well-stocked bar in front of what seemed like a dance floor. There were a few fixtures missing, oddly enough. I figured that was normal, Avenger-grade wear and tear. I would later learn that those were damages not yet fixed from Ultron's initial attack.

-"Avengers, if you'd please step into the conference room." -he said with authority. The heroes looked amongst themselves, then got up and followed the Captain, Tony muttering something about not even being a team member anymore. Rhodey stayed behind, and came to sit across from me. Dr. Cho was nowhere to be seen, so the silence got really awkward, really quickly.

-"So, War Machine, huh? How's it like? Using the suit, I mean." -I asked shyly. I _was_ a major tech nerd, after all, and my brain was still grasping at straws.

The colonel thought it over for a few seconds, a wry smile on his face. "Heavy." -he responded. I snorted, raising an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes. "Well, it is. The armor doesn't move by itself, but rather responds to mental commands. The helmet is actually equipped with a harmless, miniaturized version of an MRI, so it scans all the time for the brain patterns associated with certain movements. Plus, we have a tiny 'translator' chip that interprets the electrical signals from our brains to the rest of our bodies." -he explained. I cocked my head quizzically. "Tony has it too, then?" -I asked. He looked at me curiously, then nodded. "Yeah. Us two, plus the person who wears the Rescue armor." -he answered. I whistled appreciatively. Gwen would've loved to meet her.

It all came back to her, didn't it?

Rhodey noticed my sudden sadness. "She'll be alright, Peter. Paralysis is a very fickle thing. For all we know, she'll be right as rain in a couple of months." -he tried to assuage my fears. I nodded, absently. _It could also be worse than the Doc said_, thought Pessimist Parker.

-"Talk to me about her. I have a feeling there's an awesome story behind you two, and I'm a sucker for a good tale." -he prodded. I knew what he was doing. Get me talking, avoid my shutting down, and help me remember the good times. I had very little left to lose, so I did.

I told him all about her family, and how she was the brightest student to come out of MidSci. The way she was firmly stubborn, but also oddly accepting of my life, and how her life had changed from meeting me. I even told him about the time Gwen met Thor, at which he burst out in chuckles.

Son of a gun. His plan was working.

Too soon, Tony came out of the conference room, a manic grin on his face. "Hey, honeys. Cap's calling front and center, so you better come in." -he said. Rhodey looked at me, and I shrugged. We went into the room, where every Avenger I knew of, minus Hawkeye, Banner and Thor were seated.

I'll admit, I was a little intimidated. These guys had fought _armies_.Worst I'd had were a giant lizard person, a dude in a glider, and a human battery. Two of those, barely that night.

The Captain gestured at me to sit, so I did. I noticed they were all unmasked. "Do I have to take the mask off?" -I asked quietly. Steve shook his head. "No. Actually, it would be a good idea for you to remain masked. The reason we invited you in is because Associate Director Fury wants to have a word with you, but we wanted to talk with you first." -he said. I gulped; Fury was probably going to chew me out for being irresponsible, reckless, and mildly amusing. Not that I didn't deserve it.

-"Now, S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer in charge of the Avengers since the events in D.C., but that doesn't mean we don't cooperate. In fact, after the destruction of Sokovia a month ago, we are working closely with them in an effort to generate goodwill with the international community." -he said, but I was confused.

-"Wait, I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone...like, for good." -I said worriedly. Steve gave me a look that belied annoyance, though not at me. More like he thought the same thing.

-"This is classified, Peter, but I think we can trust you with this. S.H.I.E.L.D. _was_ gone. For about a week. Then, some very..._loyal_ operatives started it back up again. They're a shadow of what they were, but they still operate. The Helicarrier the world saw in Europe was pretty much their entire public force. The spies are still around, but in very low numbers. Even we don't know where those headquarters are." -he said, but I was still nervous.

-"It's just...they knew who I was. Fury and Hawkeye, at least. You saw what happened tonight. There's a reason I keep my identity secret. G-gwen and I checked the files you released, and we couldn't find my name, but we might've missed it." -I said, finally. Captain Rogers frowned, genuinely surprised. He turned to the Black Widow, who just shrugged. "We were aware, yes."

My stomach dropped even further, before Stark piped up. "Oh, kid, that's what you're fretting over? We triple checked every file Widow updated that day and censored some things _before_ they went out into the wild. Among them, your name. We've known who you are for _months_. You're in the clear." -he said with a cocky grin. I was shocked. "You did that for _me_?" -I asked incredulously. Tony scoffed.

-"You and others, don't let it go to your head. Besides, you think Captain Momma Hen would've let you unmask in the Tower if your ID wasn't safe?" -he asked sarcastically. I felt my cheeks warm up in embarrassment. Steve grunted. "Give him some credit, Tony. None of us were thinking logistics when we came in." -he said sadly. I thought I heard the genius mutter 'I was', but that could've been my imagination. Steve turned back to me.

-"In any case, I'll spare you any further shock from Fury's chat. He wants you to join the Avengers." -he said.

-"I take it he doesn't handle rejection well? He asked already...wait, you sound like _you_ don't want me to join."

The Captain looked at me, scowling. "Peter, not for one _second_ do I want you to believe that any of us don't appreciate what you do. In some ways, you're better than any of us." -he said.

-"But...?" -I prompted.

-"We're not comfortable with the idea of a young man of your age undertaking Avenger missions. Not yet, at least." -he said. The young woman, Wanda, the one who'd taken Gwen, crossed her arms. "I disagree. He has shown himself a paragon of justice for long, now. We would be remiss in not admitting this as _proof_ he is a hero worthy of the Avenger title." -she said with her thick accent. Definitely eastern European. I idly wondered if she was from Sokovia. Steve frowned, unwilling to argue.

-"Wicked Witch is right, the Bug is a tried and true Avenger. If you let _her_ in, I don't see why you wouldn't let New York's favorite insect into the club." -Stark said. Steve glared at him. "I thought you weren't an Avenger anymore." -he said. "Never said I was. I should get Founder's benefits, though, right? Plus, I pay _all_ of your expenses. That sorta makes me your boss in my book." -Tony retorted. Steve just pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

-"You're _not_ an Avenger?" -I asked, surprised. Tony rolled his eyes. "Geez, kid, read the news. Better yet, check my Twitter. I'm doing damage control for the Ultron thing. I won't be teaming up with these misfits for a while." -he clarified. The whole room glared at him, and I almost snickered a little. The Captain cleared his throat.

-"Wanda was accepted not just for her help and service in the past few weeks, but also because she's 21. She's of legal age everywhere in the world. With our fragile publicity, the truth is that, regardless of our moral stance, his deeds, and/or opinions, we can't afford to officially allow him to join." -he said, a little exasperated. It was my turn to clear my throat, though.

-"You guys know I'm right here, right?" -I asked, sarcastically. The intimidation factor had been lost as soon as they started bickering. The others all turned to look at me. "I'm very flattered, and all, but I can't accept. Not for awhile, at least. It's, uh, not just because of what happened tonight, either. I have college to think about, and an aunt I have to take care of. Not to mention the fact that my girlfriend is likely disabled for life. So, while I totally agree that age shouldn't really be an issue, and I would like to work with you guys after things are a little more settled, I wouldn't say yes if you offered." -I said with a sad smile.

The room was silent for a couple of minutes. Wanda looked at me strangely, but seemed pleased with my response; so did Steve. Tony rolled his eyes, but smirked, too. "Fury's gonna love you even _more_. I'd say good luck, but I'm not that cruel. F.R.I.D.A.Y., what do you have for me?" -he asked the ceiling. A spunky, slightly irish sounding voice answered back. "_Well, Miss Stacy's surgical procedure ended some five minutes ago. Thought you might want to know, Mr. Parker_."

I blinked a couple of times. "Is that an AI?" -I asked, baffled. "Short answer, yes, long answer, no. She _also_ should be addressing _me_, not you." -he said, annoyed. The Black Widow smirked smugly. "What is it with you and your AI's liking _everyone_ better than you?" -she asked. Tony just grunted something about 'recalibrating'. Everyone chuckled at that. Steve looked at me.

-"Go. We'll handle Fury. Besides, we think we _might_ have a way for you to help, later on, but we need to work on it before we can talk about it." -he said. Sam, the Falcon, piped up. "It's all very hush-hush. Which means just a few hundred people know." -he deadpanned. I laughed a little, before saying bye to everyone and hurrying out of there.

Gwen was lying on a comfortable looking bed, completely unaware of the various beeps and lights around her. I took my glove off, grabbing her limp hand. Her pulse was strong, and her face looked completely unblemished, but she wasn't alright. She probably never would be again. Then again, neither was I; maybe, just maybe, between the both of us, we could fix each other enough to be functional again.

I wished my meeting the Avengers had been under a better set of circumstances, but life didn't seem to like throwing me a bone like that. I'd learned that the hard way; hell, I was still learning it. But it wasn't all bad. I had trustworthy people watching my back, people who I trusted to help me protect the people I cared about.

I just hoped it would be enough.

* * *

**Ok! So, Second Generation went to a terrible place fast, which tells me I have way too much to develop in both this fic and the others in my Marvel Universe before I can even consider a crossover of that magnitude. Thus, you're getting more chapters. Instead of the next chapter being an epilogue, I've changed its designation to an interlude, while I gather my wits and continue this story. So, sit back, and give me a few days to give you a damn good chapter!**

**Until next time! - Darthkvzn**


	6. Interlude The First

**To my loyal readers, enjoy this interlude! To the normal ones, well, y'know...enjoy, hopefully? - Darthkvzn**

* * *

Dying hurt.

Ironically, it wasn't the worst pain I'd ever had. That dubious honor went to the time I broke my leg climbing a tree as a toddler. I never was one for the dolls, after all.

When the web snapped, all I could think was _Please don't blame yourself, Peter_. In the short time -_too short_\- that I'd known and loved him, I had come to know him as well as I knew myself. I knew he loved being Spider-Man; that he felt at home as a human pendulum, swinging around the crowded streets of the city we both loved, and saving countless lives with his actions. I also knew that if he could trade his powers for his uncle's life, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Peter was loyal to a fault. And I knew my death would devastate him, as he would feel this was his responsibility, never mind the fact that I'd chosen this life, and my actions that night. I knew he'd suffer for a long time, and that he'd likely grieve me his whole life. I also believed he would move on, eventually, his infallible sense of responsibility not allowing him to sit on the sidelines while he could be using his power for good.

Thus, I fell, unwillingly, but at peace.

When I blacked out from hitting the floor, I honestly can't tell what I expected. As a woman of science, perhaps nothing. I was, admittedly, part of a catholic family, so perhaps I had a tiny sliver of hope that I'd see Saint Peter greet me, or at least a bright light leading into my afterlife.

The former would've been appreciated, if a bit disappointing. I only had love for one Peter in my life.

What I was _not_ expecting, was a little girl, dressed in rags, colored midnight blue, and bone white, the color difference straight down the middle of both her clothes, and her skin. Her white side was freckled, and her eye was a blue so clear and perfect it made me ashamed of my blue grey irises. Like night and day - _or life and death_ \- her dark side was just one hint of a shade lighter than pitch black, and the respective eye was a glowing green that seemed downright poisonous, surrounded by darkness as well. The girl looked at me inquisitively, as if she couldn't place me, or hadn't noticed I was there.

Speaking of, 'there' was a barren land of onyx-colored dirt, and a vaulted ceiling of the most beautiful stars and nebulae. The geek in me almost cried from the sheer beauty of it.

-"_Hello, there._" -the little girl said, as if meeting a stranger in the middle of nowhere was an everyday occurrence. Her voice sounded as if she was sucking in air, instead of blowing it out with every word. It was haunting and creepy, but it suited her. She smirked a two color smile.

-"Um, hi. Do you have any idea where we are?" -I tried asking. The girl squinted at me, then nodded.

-"_This is my home. Well, my front porch, really._" -she said bashfully. She was barefoot, and her bi-colored clothing resembled a simple, ankle length nightgown. Looking down at my own body, I could see I was wearing mist versions of the clothing I'd died - no, fallen in. They were kind of see-through, so I crossed my arms to subtly cover myself.

-"Do you have a name?"

-"_Many_." -is all she said. I pursed my lips. This girl looked sorta human, alright, but she didn't exactly act that way. Then again, my only companion in the afterlife acting like a toddler might not have been the best way to pass eternity.

-"Any you'd particularly like me to call you? I mean, I imagine we'll be here a while…" -I argued. She cocked her head again, kind of like a puppy would.

-"_Father calls me Hela_." -she finally admitted with a small smile. I tried to remember my mythology lessons, but I came up empty. Finally, I gave up.

-"And who would your father be?" -I asked. She looked past me, and smiled.

-"That would be me." -a quiet, sultry male voice said behind me. The voice gave me goosebumps, and not exactly the good kind. More like the kind that warned you to run the hell away.

I turned, and saw a man that could only be described as godly: he was exceedingly tall, narrow of frame, and athletically built. He wore golden, black and green armor that any prop artist would _kill_ to even touch, complete with a smooth, green cape, flowing down to his leather boots. Cunning green eyes regarded me with some curiosity, and I couldn't help but be afraid, regardless of the fact that I was dead already. His face was narrow, his cheekbones pronounced, and his image of otherworldly beauty was completed with slicked back hair, as dark as the darkest night I'd ever seen. He walked slowly, with purpose, towards us, carrying a golden sceptre that thrummed with power every time it touched the floor.

I wanted to run. I wanted to hide, more than anything I could remember wanting. But his venomous gaze rooted me in place.

-"So," -he began, "this is the second soul I've bargained for. I must admit, I find not what the _hero_ sees in her." -he said, appraising me. He circled me once, twice, his eyes roaming my body in a way that could only be considered predatory. He stepped in front of me, solid, pale flesh mere inches from my wispy form. He stared unblinkingly for a minute before turning to the girl. "Tell, me dearest Hela, what do you see in the mortal?" -he said, as if I was not even there.

The girl sat in the floor, playing with the black dirt. Skeletal animal bones assembled themselves into a puppy, which immediately animated and began to playfully pounce at her. I was _beyond_ freaking out at that point. She seemed annoyed at the man, but once again focused on me before asking.

-"_Hardly anything._" -she admitted in a confused tone. The man smiled triumphantly. "The magic works again, child. You have kept your end of the contract. I shall endeavor to keep mine when the time comes. I have no doubt you wish to collect soon." -he said. The little girl rolled her eyes, a gesture which seemed extremely out of place in her spectral appearance.

-"_What I wish is of little import. What must be is my command. Go, now, Silver-Tongue, and do not return until the occasion demands it._" -she said, and then dissolved into the black dirt that made the realm. I shuddered uncontrollably, and the god sneered at me.

-"Ah, yes. The fragility of the mortal mind. I often forget your kind's willing ignorance of the transmundane is so strong that witnessing it can break the frail foundations of that psyche you so often pride yourselves in. Worry not, Gwendolyn Stacy. You are not meant to recall that this conversation ever happened." -he said, then thrust his hand into my chest, and I could _feel_ him gripping my heart, pulling it, ripping it out of place.

The last thing I heard was a mad cackle, before everything went black.

* * *

**And so, the trickster shows his hand. So, this is the**** deal. I originally thought I'd end the story (which was a oneshot, at first) here. Give you guys an epilogue, start a sequel, all that jazz. But I underestimated the sheer amount of planning, writing and developing one must do for the type of multi-franchise story I'm going for. So, I'll continue this story, get some more plot going and character development, etc. And then I'll finish my other stories in the universe, before moving on to phase 2. Kinda like the MCU! **

**Right, then! See you until next time! - Darthkvzn**


	7. Chapter 6

**RIGHT! Welcome to the unplanned, unplugged, unfathomable Act II of First Contact. Gotta have a few feels in this chapter. Gwen did just die/didn't die but got seriously hurt. Hooray for as-of-yet-unexplained cosmic loopholes! Enjoy! - Darthkvzn**

* * *

Waiting on Gwen to exit her medically induced coma/regenerating sleep was nerve wracking enough, but I'd completely forgotten about the fact that she had a loving family that had no idea what she'd just been through last night.

-"There's a middle-aged blonde woman yelling at F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the Tower's lobby." -said Tony, walking into the room.

I winced. "That would be my mother-in-law."

Tony smirked knowingly. "I figured. She somehow knows her daughter is here, and is demanding to see her. Do I let her in? I mean she'll have to sign a few NDAs and all."

I nodded. "It wouldn't be ok to keep her away. Even if she _is_ gonna kill me on sight."

-"You're not very good at this whole _secret_ identity thing, are you?" -he asked, deadpan.

-"Says the man who outed himself on national TV." -I said, raising an eyebrow.

Tony smirked. "Point taken. Remind me not to let Pepper go anywhere near you. Wouldn't want you two to bond over how well you can quip against me." -he said, then departed.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Tony Stark, so far, had proven to be kind of a jerk - one with a heart of gold, obviously, since he was a superhero, but still a jerk. Maybe his casual dismissal of me when compared with the Captain's appreciation made me a little bit biased, but I suppose Tony's acceptance wasn't as quick to come as Rogers'.

I made my way out to the elevator, putting the mask on to meet Helen Stacy, when the doors opened, revealing the woman in question, who blinked in surprise at my appearance.

Then, of course, she punched me.

-"GAH, geez, that smarts." -I said, clutching at my nose, which was, amazingly, bleeding. Mrs. Stacy clutched her injured hand, and glared at me. I grimaced nervously, sputtering apologies before she stopped me.

-"I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is what happened to my daughter." -she said in a clipped tone.

I nodded quickly. "Yes ma'am, this way ma'am." -I said, leading the way.

The Avengers' medical facilities were half a level down (weird architecture choice, I thought). Dr. Cho was looking at a few papers outside, evidently advised that her patient's mother was coming, and not exactly happy. The blonde turned at me. "You, stay outside." -she said. I pursed my lips under the mask, but nodded.

She looked at the doctor, who frowned at me, but said nothing. "Good morning Mrs. Stacy. Mr. Stark told me you were coming. Please, come in, and let's have a seat." -she said, and they went inside.

My enhanced hearing didn't pick up any sobs or wailing, just quiet chatter I couldn't quite make heads or tails out of. I waited, pacing outside for what seemed like forever. Dr. Cho had briefed me on the full details of Gwen's situation earlier today - she was showing signs of intense REM sleep, which was apparently good news. They'd induced a comma so the Cradle's effects would not be disrupted by the patient moving too much, but they should repair most of the damage. Excluding, of course, the actual paralysis. The Cradle's technology worked by enhancing the body's natural repair process, accelerating and improving it with nanotech and a bunch of fancy bio-nonsense I frankly didn't understand. Unfortunately, that meant it couldn't heal things that the body itself wouldn't be able to, like the paraplegic condition my girlfriend was currently experiencing.

Mrs. Stacy walked out of the room, her face seemingly set in stone. "Is there someplace we can speak?" -she asked.

-"I think so. F.R.I.D.A.Y.?" -I asked the ceiling.

If the AI startled Gwen's mom, she didn't show it. "_Two doors down your right_." -she said quickly.

I led the way to the small conference room, one I imagined the Avengers used to discuss medical related issues. Mrs. Stacy closed the door behind her, then slumped. She looked at me for a moment, then spoke up. "Please, get the mask off, Peter. I need to look you in the eyes."

I blinked - how the heck...did Dr. Cho tell her…? I debated going for a white lie, but saw in her eyes that she _knew_, and that fact wasn't going to change, mask on or off. I took the mask off, revealing my bruised face, still healing for what I surmised would be a couple more hours, give or take. My enhanced healing usually took care of the worst things within two or three days, but Harry's punches and kicks had been as strong, if not more so than my own.

Mrs. Stacy studied my face for a moment, before plopping down on a chair. I stayed up, my lips set in a line. "How...are you?" -I asked tentatively.

She snorted. "What, no quips? Not even gonna ask me how I know your secret identity?" -she asked.

I laughed humorlessly. "My identity is not nearly as secret as I would've liked."

She mimicked my expression. "You were pretty terrible, the first few months. I must've caught you three, maybe four times before you two got smarter. I never saw you since, but then again I'd already found out."

I shook my head. Maybe I should've been a little more careful, but I was so glad to be back with Gwen that I'd evidently gotten a little careless. That was probably how S.H.I.E.L.D. had found out, too. "Why not stop her, though? Stop _us_ from happening, I mean."

She offered a small smirk. "It wasn't for lack of trying, I'll tell you that. We had a lot of discussions over you, what you were, and what that meant, going forward. Imagine my shock when I tried to surprise _her_, telling her you were the Spider-Man everyone feared, the one who'd killed her father that night - she already knew who you were. From the start, it seemed."

-"I didn't..." -I tried to tell her, but she shook her head. "I know you didn't kill George. At first, I didn't believe Gwen. Almost lost my mind - why would she defend her father's killer? It made no sense to me. But then I saw you, risking your life every day. I saw how happy it- _you_ made Gwen. I had to force myself to see the other side, and consider the possibility that maybe the police was wrong about you. That's when I finally gave in, and actually listened to Gwen. She always was too smart for her own good."

I smiled sadly. She saw it and smiled as well. "Peter, I hope you know that I can't forgive you."

I grimaced, but nodded. She shook her head. "Don't. Listen to me: I can't forgive you because there is nothing _to_ forgive. I knew what I was getting into when I married a policeman. I knew that maybe one day, he'd put on that badge, and strap that gun to his hip, and wouldn't come back. I hated the man as much as I loved him for it. And I hate to say it, but Gwen turned out to be just like her mother. Being the love of a superhero...it's new territory, but it's fairly obvious that the risks are exponentially higher. And Gwen, she knew this. She'd given this so much thought, and still wanted to be with you. I couldn't do _anything_ to convince her otherwise. As much as it pains me to say this, my daughter is in love with Spider-Man, and that is not going to change, even if it kills her. So, instead of asking you to atone for sins that you haven't committed, I want you to promise me something."

I was baffled. Here, I was expecting the woman to outright beat the hell out of me, even give me to the authorities (and I would've let her, too), and she'd known all along. I suppose, in retrospect, it made sense. She'd never once questioned when Gwen lied to her that I'd come in through the front door instead of the window.

-"I'm not George. I know what he asked of you, and God, I love him, and miss him so much, but asking you to stay away from Gwen wasn't only hateful and cruel, it was short-sighted. The threat to Gwen's safety will always be there. This person who hurt her last night? He'd have found out about your history eventually, and used it against you, maybe in a way you wouldn't have been able to save her, let alone whatever other enemies you make in the future. And I _know_ you saved her, Peter Parker. My daughter is alive thanks to you. So what I'm asking you to promise is that you'll _never_ stay away from Gwen. That you'll protect her even when she asks you not to. Because God help me, if you abandon her again, I will find you, and I will kill you, superpowers or not."

I smiled sheepishly - I had no doubt that she would deliver on that threat. I won't lie - being with Gwen was gnawing on my psyche right now. The decision to push her away again had crossed my mind, but she was right. If Harry had found out, then so could others. Hell, her late husband and the man who killed him had found out way too quickly.

In the end, considering my feelings for her, my answer was as expected. "I promise."

The woman nodded tiredly, then got up. "Now come. Let's wash the blood of your face."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "You have a meaner right hook than 90% of the thugs I've ever met, by the way."

She laughed, then winked at me. "I grew up in Hell's Kitchen, Peter. Gwen didn't learn all her tricks from her father."

I offered a wry smile, leading the way to the common room.

* * *

The events of the day so far had me reeling slightly, a fact not helped at all by my refusal to eat anything until Gwen got better. F.R.I.D.A.Y. would have none of it, though, having some of Stark's little droids follow me around with trays of food that I eventually found too appetizing to refuse. With Gwen's mom by her bedside, I gave in, sitting down in the large kitchen, and eating a delicious omelette. Steve and the Black Widow walked in on me stuffing my face, to which I offered a sheepish grin.

-"You go right ahead. I swear, you're thinner than her." -said the Captain, pointing to his partner.

Natasha swatted at him playfully, then sat down next to me. "How're you feeling, Peter?" -she asked.

I blinked a couple of times. "Better. Not as angsty as before. Which is a miracle named Helen Stacy, honestly. I swear, I expected not to survive today." -I said.

Steve smirked. "In-laws can be a bit too much sometimes, apparently. Not that I would know, I suppose."

My eyebrow raised. "Never been in a relationship, Captain? Tumblr has paired you off with every female Avenger, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, that girl from the Chitauri invasion you rescued, and most of the male Avengers."

He grimaced. "God, no. None of the above, thank you very much." -he said.

Romanoff grinned. "What about Sharon? You've gone on a couple of dates already. That's more than you've gone on before." -she said.

My mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "Cap's got a girlfriend, Cap's got a girlfriend!" -I sang.

The man covered his face in exasperation. "I am seriously reconsidering my offer to take you to the Compound, Parker." -he said sternly.

I blinked. "The Compound?"

He shrugged. "The name's a bit of a work in progress. Avengers Tower is still officially the Avengers' main base, but it's a little _too_ public right now, with all the fallout we have to deal with after Sokovia. After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony and I figured it might come in handy to have a few extra bases, just in case - the Compound is one of them, a few clicks north of here, in upstate New York. We've chosen it as the base for our next project, which we'd like for you to join."

Natasha nodded, grabbing a piece of toast from my tray. "After the Battle of Sokovia, the Avengers were officially three members short - Hawkeye is on paternity leave, Iron Man is on a self-imposed time-out, and the Hulk is...well, we don't really know where he is."

Steve handed me a collapsible StarkTablet he'd had in his pocket. "As soon as the Avengers were formed, we realized that, except possibly for Thor, we were not immortal. We knew that, one day, the time would come for us to leave the fight for good. We're relatively young now, sure, but time flies when you're saving the world. We came up with a simple plan, really. We would look for and eventually train new Avengers to take up arms in the fight to keep the world turning."

The Widow went on. "Enhanced individuals are more common than you'd think. We just keep them very quiet - most of the time. Just last month, half a dozen new enhanced popped up. Two of these are Avengers now. If we want to stay ahead of that particular curve, we have to keep recruiting, and training the rookies."

I saw the files - massive budgets (bigger than I could even imagine) had been allocated toward the training of new recruits, accounting for everything from super strength, to the ability to warp reality. "This is amazing. But...I already said I can't be an Avenger. I love being a hero, don't get me wrong, but I can't devote my entire life to it in good conscience. Gwen would kill me - or try to join me, I don't know which is worse. Plus, there's the whole age thing you mentioned."

Steve smirked. "Which is why we're not asking you to join the Avengers. We'd like for you to join the Avengers Academy. As a tutor."

* * *

**Alright! That's that for this chapter. I'll be real honest with you guys. I'm a bit terrified to continue this fic, even though logic tells me it's necessary. This is my most successful fic, period. It was very well received in its original version, and I'd like to do my best to keep it that way. So hopefully this feels right for you. I'd like some feedback, if you'd be so kind! **

**A few tiny references are strewn about this chapter, mostly for continuity's sake. Still, if you find any mistakes, don't hesitate to point them out. My schedule doesn't currently allow for much spellchecking, unfortunately. **

**Anyway, if you have any questions, shoot me a review or PM, you awesome possums! Until next time - Darthkvzn**


	8. Chapter 7

-"A tutor. Me. As in, Peter Parker, 18 year old web-slinger." -I said, baffled.

Widow smirked. "Sure. It'll be fun."

-"I thought I might get a teaching job someday, but this is not what I had in mind when I graduated." -I said dryly.

I _had_ given some thought to my future. I wasn't exactly sure that I'd ever get to have a nice job, given my rather suspicious tendencies to bolt out the door as soon as I heard someone in trouble in my general vicinity, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, I'd have a decent job as a photographer, or maybe as a private tutor. Ever since Flash had become a friend of Gwen and I, we'd taken turns tutoring him in the various courses he sorely needed help with. It was fun, and I got to be a major nerd and have it be cause for gratitude instead of bruises and insults.

Teaching a new generation of heroes...heck, how old were these going to be? I was barely 18 - assuming they meant to have me teach within the next two years, I'd _still_ be underaged.

The Captain noticed my obvious apprehension. "It's quite the important job, but we think you're the man. We've been very fortunate so far; those Avengers without fully formal training have done well by themselves, and learned quickly to fight like the best of us. But we're talking teenagers who've just noticed or received their powers, likely freaking out about them. And with things as they are on the political front…" -he trailed off.

-"What do you mean?" -I frowned.

Widow's face darkened. "There's been talks that the United Nations are preparing to strike out against enhanced. Like it or not, the Ultron crisis left a lot of dead and wounded behind, not to mention the billions in destruction. Some people are capitalizing on an unfortunate situation, simply put."

Steve scowled. "There are some troubling times ahead. Tony's taking on the brunt of the damage, but he shouldn't have to. We all handled that situation poorly, in our own way. If the government is intending to clamp down on superhuman activities, we intend to fight back and shelter those we can, and train the next generation of Avengers in the meantime."

I put a hand to my chin. "I'm...well, honored that you're thinking of me for that. Not entirely sure I'm what you're looking for, but still. But...as I said before, with Gwen's new situation and my identity still a secret to the public, I don't see how I can help. At least, for a while."

-"Well, the identity thing can be easily handled. We'll just tell everyone you're interning at Resilient Inc. Hell, you can actually intern here - I've checked your school files, you're kind of a genius." -said Tony, walking into scene in full Iron Man regalia, his faceplate up. He grabbed a bagel, and started munching on it.

I blinked twice. "_You_ think I'm a genius?" -I asked, baffled.

He shrugged, making a low whirring sound. "Sure. Not me-level, or anything, but I've seen your web-shooters. Those were like, what, 20 bucks each, plus spares?" -I nodded, and he did as well. "I could _probably_ have invented them, but for that price, they might as well be a miracle. You're pretty handy with tech, kid."

I gestured helplessly at him, suit and all. He laughed. "Right. Well, ladies (and Romanoff), I'm off to the U.N. to be pointed and cursed at again. Well, murmured at, rather. Armor's handy as a buffer."

He then took off, blasting the tray (and Steve) to the floor, flying through the now-open skylight on the ceiling.

Widow and I must've giggles for five minutes straight while the Sentinel of Liberty pouted, prone on the ground.

-"Kind of dramatic, isn't he?" -I said, wiping a tear.

Widow shrugged, plucking a bit of egg from her chest. "He's still the world's biggest softie on the inside. Completely changed the Tower around for us, gave both his best friend and fiancée a suit, and pretty much keeps us alive with his tech, home, and money."

Cap got up, glaring at the skylight, but sighed. "He's under a lot of pressure. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need some disaster to happen so that they'll ease off his back."

-"Geez, don't jinx it, Cap." -I winced.

The universe must've wanted to slip in just one more sucker punch that day, because my spider-sense tingled.

Just then, an alarm went off. Rogers' attention snapped to the ceiling. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., give me a sitrep."

-"_Several explosive detonations have occurred in and around the U.N. building. Mr. Stark appears to be uninjured, but also outnumbered._"

-"Who's attacking!?" -asked Rogers, bolting off toward the armory. Natasha and I shared a look, and followed quickly behind.

-"_It appears...well, this can't be right. Mr. Stark seems to be under attack from the Iron Monger, Whiplash, and three other unknown enemies, also wearing power suits._" -said the A.I., confused.

Rogers quickly stripped to his underwear, then rapidly donned his suit. Romanoff did the same, making me put on the mask to hide my blush. The former spy frowned. "Maybe some people got inspired by his rogues gallery, decided to copycat? Stane and Vanko got K.I.A."

The Captain frowned, putting the helmet on and grabbing the famous shield. "I heard. Everyone at the old S.H.I.E.L.D. did. Which means this has got HYDRA written all over it. F.R.I.D.A.Y., how's Tony doing?"

-"_Holding his own, Captain, but one of the unknowns uses some kind of teleportation technology that is disrupting Mr. Stark's attempts at a counter-attack. I am currently re-uploading myself into his armor._"

I double-checked my shooters, and Rogers looked at me. "Spider-Man, you and Widow will go on ahead. Try and flank, Widow will brief you on the way. I'll bring the cavalry in about ten minutes. Give them hell meanwhile."

I nodded, then looked at Romanoff. "Fancy a piggyback ride, Miss Romanoff?" -I asked, cheekily.

She rolled her eyes, quickly climbing and grabbing onto me tightly. "You're definitely Avengers material, cheesy jokes and all. Get on with it, before Tony runs out of time. I promise I'll hold on."

A window opened, and I jumped out, immediately immediately feeling the rush that only came with recklessly plummeting before the pendulum swing. To her credit, Widow remained unflappable.

It was a bit tricky, swinging around with a passenger, but I managed, as I had before with Gwen. Natasha was shorter and weighed even less than my girlfriend, which I found odd given her usual feats of strength and athleticism.

Half a minute later, I could see the smoke and hear the screams of civilians, and the exchanging energy blasts between Iron Man and his enemies. "Set me down here. You flank on their right, I'll go left." -said the Widow.

-"Anything I should know about these creeps?" -I asked her retreating figure.

She didn't turn, but she did answer. "If it glows, stear clear!"

I gulped. So far, I'd faced all manner of thugs. Other than Connors, Electro and Harry however, I was a little short on supervillain experience, not to mention still a little distracted from the previous night's events. In the end, though, it didn't matter. I had no choice but to fight.

I swung a few more times, landing on the roof of a three story brownstone, overlooking the fight. Tony was hovering, dodging all sorts of projectiles, his armor scratched, but mercifully intact. The assortment of baddies in front of him seemed to have no set theme, other than maybe 'JJ Abrams Lens Flare Extravaganza'.

Two of them I sorta knew - there was the big one, a bulky, gray monstrosity called Iron Monger, and a leaner figure, whose armor was less a suit and more a bunch of plates over bare skin, who I assumed was Whiplash (the whips were a tad on the nose).

The other three I didn't. One might as well have been Iron Man with a 4th of July theme - the armor was a little bulkier, and the overall feel more menacing than heroic. Tumblr was gonna go wild over the whole Steve/Tony angle. Another was feminine, with cloth on top of an armored, curve-hugging design. A cowl covered her face, obscuring everything but two yellow eyes of doom from view. And the last one might've been my age, also female. She wore gray-lilac armor, covering everything except for a long ponytail.

What a bunch of weirdoes.

I jumped in, landing on the big one. It immediately tried to grab me, but its arms were way too thick, and I was too fast. I fired a dozen webs in quick succession, jamming its joint mechanisms, then focused on the two currently looking at me. The two females had chosen moi as their opponent. The smaller one made a finger gun, but before I could snort, her fingertips glowed purple, and she shot a bolt of energy at me. I barely jumped out of the way, the purple bolt slamming into Iron Monger, who went down smoking.

The figure shrieked, pointing both finger guns at me and firing quickly. She was a very good shot, but not very tactical about it, so I dodged easily. I catapulted myself toward her, landing and slipping through her too-wide stance, then delivering a series of jabs to her back, corny asian kung fu sounds and all. Before I could tie her up, however, the cloaked figure popped in front of me with a blinding flash, grabbing the downed girl and blinking away.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the stars in my eyes, when my spidey-sense went bonkers - I managed to step back from the danger, but still felt a searing pain slash across my chest.

-"FUUUDGE ice cream, what is it with you guys and my chest!?" -I shouted, clutching at the new, shallow gash.

-"Chest is important to bodily functions. Come spider - let the whips decide this fight!" -said Whiplash in thick russian-speak.

-"This isn't the Indiana Jones reboot set, comrade! How about we stick to the basics?" -I said, shooting a couple of webs the man immediately slashed through. We kept the exchange going for a minute or so, when he figured out he could limit my escapes a lot more if he cut my swing lines.

An armor powered kick sent me sprawling to the ground, barely shifting my position in time to avoid a vicious downward whip strike. Whiplash's armor was bent and warped where I'd hit harder, which apparently make russian man livid. He lowered the voltage on his whips and wrapped me with one, pulling me all the way in for a good choking. I mentally facepalmed - my spidey-sense worked better with mortal danger, sure, but his advantage was keeping me at bay, not within beating distance. I applied more of my considerable strength, getting rid of the chokehold, then delivered a strong uppercut to his masked face, landing him a good ten feet back.

He groaned as he tried to rise. "What, no quips, spider?"

-"Just one. Ever seen 'From Russia With Love'?"

Widow didn't give him time to process this, as she jumped on his back and used her wrist weapons to render him unconscious.

-"From Russia with Love? Really?"

-"I think I'm nursing two broken ribs, Widow. One or two bad jokes won't kill anyone."

She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. While I'd gone against my share of the baddies, Widow had scared the females away, and disabled the Iron Monger armor so that it looked like a web-covered statue. Tony was still fighting his 4th of July version, proving fairly evenly matched in terms of tech.

Tony's three years of experience quickly proved too much for the newcomer, however, as the Iron Man bearhugged his enemy, rising in the air, then throwing him back down and unleashing a dozen micro-missiles on the bad guy. The figure tried getting up, but Tony got to him first, punching the faceplate off his helmet. I didn't get to see the man's face, though, as the cloaked teleporter popped in and systematically took all the fallen villains away in three seconds.

Tony landed next to us, lifting the faceplate to reveal a deadly serious expression. He turned to Widow, whose face turned worried. "What the hell was all this!? Not only are Stane and Vanko actually alive, they're suited up and ready to kick my ass?"

Widow shook her head. "I don't know. Someone must've taken their DNA samples, somehow. But we know it wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D."

I remembered. "Right, you guys filtered the data dump."

Tony nodded. "Stane and Vanko's bodies were mangled beyond even my recognition - but I saw them die. Fury's lackeys didn't have any way to take a blood sample, so neither did HYDRA...unless..."

-"Hold that thought, Tony. Media's incoming." -warned Natasha, changing her stance to face the music.

Sure enough, a throng of reporters and cameramen rushed to the scene, heedless of the debris and potentially dangerous nature of the post-battle scene.

-"Mr. Stark! Why were your enemies attacking the U.N.?"

-"Tony, can we get a statement on your stance on the Sokovian Accords?"

-"Why is Spider-Man working with you?"

Tony took the helmet off, raising his hands placatingly. "Guys, come on, you know better than to approach a fight area."

-"They clearly don't." - muttered Natasha darkly.

Tony gave her a look, but continued to address the public. "As you might want to recall, S.H.I.E.L.D. is back on cleanup duty and media wrangling, so you'll have to wait for Fury and company to get here for statements."

The reporters were clearly unsatisfied with Stark's words, inching closer to us. Widow did her best to glare them away, but one of them pushed through.

-"Spider-Man, why are you aiding such controversial figures as the Avengers, especially when your popularity is at an all-time high?" -she asked.

I vaguely recognized her from before Midtown Science, maybe from elementary school. If I recall correctly, she used to be a neighbor - Mary Jane, maybe? Before her family had struck some kind of gold and moved upstate.

I cleared my throat. "Hey Miss. Fellas. Funny you didn't catch the action with Electro last night. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you like the Avengers better than your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

I got right up in her face, making sure the camera focused on me. "Unfortunately, I do catch the occasional news reel, and y'know what? I'm sorta miffed. You guys are seriously dropping the ball on the Avengers coverage."

The reporters avidly closed in, about to bombard me with questions. I had very little experience with news outlets, usually swinging away before they could get a statement, but I was very much frowning at the obvious disregard of the extremely risky work superheroes did every day.

I shushed them all, stopping their question avalanche. "Guys, come on. You're stepping on the whole speech part of freedom of speech. I'm serious, here - this man just faced his worst enemies, one of which is a Hulkified version of his suit, and the other a man with _laser whips_, and you guys are giving him a hard time. Really? When's the last time you got interrogated after facing your own bullies? For shame, people."

"You guys seem to forget, so let me talk to you about Tony Stark. The man who single-handedly rid the Middle-East of extremists. The guy who's _this_ close to getting rid of your electric bill. This fella turned the nuke your own government was about to use to _flatten_ the island of Manhattan into the weapon that ended the frickin' alien invasion!"

-"Are you denying his responsibility in the Ultron crisis, then? The citizens of the defunct Sokovia might not agree with your assessment." -said the redhead.

I shook my head. "If you'd watched the interviews and actually read the statements, you'd know he's owned up to it. So let me remind you of another tiny fact. Asgardian company excluded the Avengers are simply human. All of us, whether we can walk through walls or climb over them, are liable to fail sometime. I can't say I know anyone from Sokovia, but I think, if I was from there, I'd be thankful my hometown didn't cause the extinction of humanity."

I walked back, standing next to my fellow heroes and wrapping my arms around their necks. "I used to resent these guys for leaving me to fight the Lizard alone. But I've learned a thing or two about responsibility, and I know Doc Connors' fate was in my hands alone. Mr. Stark sure has made mistakes, but I'm certainly not flawless. My first real fight, I couldn't save Captain Stacy. But I've owned up to it, and strive to be as good a man as he was before. Now, I stand beside the Avengers as a fellow hero - and hopefully, a friend."

Tony gave me a huge grin, shaking my hand, and the Widow wrapped me in a hug. "You do know your popularity is going to go downhill from this, right?"

As many of the reporters, including Mary Jane clapped, I chuckled. "Really, it could be worse. I could be the subject of a manhunt. _Again._"

Tony put an armored hand on my shoulder. "No worries kid. Consider yourself and yours under Avenger protection."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Whatever good that's for, I suppose. Let's catch our ride."

Two Quinjets swooped in, escorted by Thor, Falcon and War Machine. The rest of the Avengers (minus Hulk and Hawkeye) filed out of one of the aircraft, including a silver haired young man who limped side by side with the Scarlet Witch.

The other had Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and two other women in the agency's colors I didn't recognize.

Fury walked over to me. "Spider-Man."

-"Director."

He shook my hand stiffly, and nodded. "I'd like to chat with you soon. In the meantime...you did good, kid."

I winced under the mask, but nodded. "Sure thing, sir."

Steve walked over to us, raising an eyebrow at Fury. "You got this?"

Fury nodded. "We do. See you later at the Compound." -he said, glancing at me before leading his entourage to deal with the media.

Steve smiled at me. "Come on. Cho's moving the patient out of the Cradle."

My eyes widened, and I nearly ran to the Quinjet.

Dread filled me as I thought of what Gwen would think, what she'd say...I was hopeful, though - I had some fairly solid new friends.

* * *

**I like to call this new arc "Team Management". For various reasons that you'll probably see after a couple of chapters. And no, I didn't just repurpose Iron Man's villains as random mooks. Their resurrection has a purpose. Three guesses as to what it is! **

**Oh, and the 4th of July themed Iron Man is Iron Patriot. Not the version from the films, for sure. As I suppose it might be confusing to you the way I'm handling the Iron Man aspect of my Marvel Universe, here's the quick of it: **

**Instead of Happy getting hurt in Iron Man 3, it's Pepper who gets wounded in an Extremis caused explosion. Tony goes on a Ten Ring killing spree, taking down the Mandarin, who turns out to be a false enhanced. Meanwhile, back home, Pepper recovers but is forced to wear an arc reactor as Tony. AIM guys want to finish the job, blah blah blah, she takes refuge in Tony's workshop, which is under attack, and JARVIS shows her the suit Tony was working on. She puts it on as the house crumbles, and beats up everyone there with JARVIS' help. Rhodey gets there and then Tony does, and they team up to take on Killian, who's claiming the Mandarin title. The three beat the dude up and proceed to hug it out. Well, except for Tony, who finally proposes to Pepper.**

**I suppose I should write that story soon too, huh?**


	9. Chapter 8

**Not an action chapter, but be prepared for a couple of feels, both good and bad. Shoot me some feedback when you're done! - Darthkvzn**

* * *

Tony stepped out of the armor as soon as he landed on the helipad, the suit walking eerily behind him.

-"F.R.I.D.A.Y., I want everything we have on those assholes on the conference room." -he said, clearly annoyed.

-"_Done, sir. Miss Potts is on the line, by the way._"

Tony blanched but winked at us with a smirk, limping away.

I shook my head, but made no comment. Steve walked over to me and inspected my wound. "Healing factor?" -he asked.

I nodded. "It'll probably scar, but it barely stings anymore. Two more days, tops, and it'll fade."

He raised an eyebrow. "Faster than mine, then. Go get it cleaned and bandaged, and then go see your girl."

Romanoff walked beside me, eyeing the gash in my suit. "You don't mind if I tell Tony to whip up a replacement suit, do you?"

I blinked. "You'd do that for me?" -I said meekly.

She shrugged. "Sure. Just don't be surprised if your new suit shoots miniature rockets or has a built-in cloaking system."

She walked off, leaving me baffled. I knew Tony Stark was a genius, and a very, _very_ wealthy man, but to think that he'd devote so much of his precious time just to replace and upgrade a bunch of flashy spandex was...well, I was a little bit floored.

I walked dazedly towards the medical area, passing by Rhodey, who smirked and waved at me while talking on the phone. I saw the silver-haired young man sitting on a gurney with the Scarlet Witch, stiffly flexing some of his muscles. The sorceress gave me a warm smile, and the man gave me a nod, which I returned.

Shaking my head, I arrived to a room occupied by Dr. Cho and Mrs. Stacy, who were amiably chatting away. The doctor turned and widened her eyes as she saw my injury.

-"Oh my, Peter, what happened?" -asked Mrs. Stacy.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "A teleporting mess of cloth and a russian man with laser whips, actually."

Dr. Cho rolled her eyes. "I swear, you heroes are insane, but at least your wardrobe choices aren't too garish, I suppose. Now come, let's help that healing factor along."

Mrs. Stacy frowned. "Healing factor?"

The doctor's eyes brightened. "Oh yes! A healing factor is the term used to describe the accelerated or enhanced healing process of certain superhuman or peak human individuals. Basically, it speeds up the body's natural healing processes and lets the person heal that much quicker. Captain Rogers has a healing factor of 4.9, for example. He heals almost five times as fast as us regular humans."

I blinked. "Wasn't he a 4.0 before?" -I said, a little self-conscious of how much useless Captain America trivia my brain was filled with.

Dr. Cho nodded mischievously. "He was. But with modern technology we've been able to ascertain that his superhuman abilities have slowly grown after being thawed. No one really knows why, as Dr. Erskine's notes make no mention of that fact."

Mrs. Stacy suppressed a groan. "This is all very interesting, but I do believe we have another patient to get to." -she said, a bit impatiently.

The doctor blushed, but nodded. She pulled out an antiseptic spray, asked me to remove my suit, and sprayed away. I bit my tongue at the sudden pain, but I could still hear Helen Stacy's gasp. "Peter...you're covered in these." -she said.

I felt very self-conscious. No one had seen me like this aside from Gwen and Flash. Gwen had actually taken several online nursing courses, and Flash knew a bit of field medicine from his dad's days in the army. Since they lived on opposite sides of the city, I could count on crashing on the nearest one's house whenever I got seriously injured.

I'd accumulated quite a bit of scars during the year or so I'd been Spider-Man. The big slash courtesy of Lizard was the most prominent, not really ugly or jagged, but a bit darker than my regular skin tone. I also had about a dozen knife slashes, three stabbings, three bullet holes (one of them courtesy of New York's finest _that_ night), and half a dozen burn marks all around, as well as a cool lightning pattern from Electro as the second most recent. Now I had a Whiplash whip slash (heh) added to the collection.

I sighed. Gwen used to tear up for every new one, but over the months we'd kinda gotten used to it. Now we were just numb. Flash's hero worship had gotten trampled over when I'd dropped by his house one day with a bullet through my lung, covered in blood. I felt sorry for it, but he'd matured quite a lot after that day.

-"It's...a bunch of long stories." -I simply said.

She pursed her lips, but understood. If I really told her how I'd gotten each, she'd probably break down.

-"Wow, someone's spandex wasn't lying. You're pretty cut, Parker." -said Tony, out of nowhere.

The man was leaning against the doorframe, holding a glass of whiskey. "Cradle's about five minutes out from done. Mind if I borrow Arachnophobia meanwhile?"

Dr. Cho seemed to consider saying no, but held her hands up in defeat. I smirked, getting up and adjusting the bandages around my torso.

Stark led me one level up, to his workshop. It looked like an engineer's paradise - that is, controlled chaos revolving around the creation of the most advanced tech in the world.

A little kid, probably around 11 or maybe 12, was busy scribbling some notes away on his notebook. He had some pretty wild light brown curls, curious eyes, and a stubborn tongue jutting out from concentration.

-"Hey Harley, we have a guest." -said Tony, gentler than usual.

The boy in question turned to me, and I saw a scar on his right cheek, about the same height as his nose. It was fairly evident, but he seemed not to know about it, sporting a huge grin. "Hello!" -he greeted cheerily. I returned a quick 'Yo!' to him.

Tony nodded toward the exit. "Go wait for Pepper to get here, alright? Bug your sister while you're at it." -he said.

The boy shrugged, gave me a salute, and left. "What just happened?" -I asked, looking at him strangely.

Stark sighed, sitting down. "Cap's got you in on the whole Academy thing, right? I figured you'd like to see what's in store. Harley Keener is about as brilliant as a 12 year-old gets, and that's saying a lot, considering I was 12 once. I found him almost a year ago in Tennessee."

I thought about that for a second. "You mean when you went AWOL for a couple of weeks?"

He shrugged. "A _lot_ of things happened in those two weeks, but that's beside the point. That kid just looked at your web-shooters and replicated them in less than a day. I'm not old enough to think on an heir to the suit, but I'm thinking he's it. The others think so, too."

I blinked. "First off, wow. Second off, isn't it a little weird to think about a 12 year-old as the next Iron Man?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you start at fifteen? He's not _actually_ going to become Iron Man tomorrow, y'know. Who knows if it'll even happen. Maybe I'll find a way to transfer my consciousness to a suit and I'll be it forever."

-"Please, sir, think of the children!" -I mocked.

He smiled. "Not bad, your sass. For an 18 year-old, at least." -he said, then turned a little more serious. "Why'd you do it?"

I thought about it for a second. Why _had_ I done it? I never went on TV, not even to defend myself from the critics, yet today I'd defended a man I wasn't sure about just minutes before.

-"I don't know. I guess I just got a little fed up that the media has been ganging up on you."

-"Still, they're right. I did wake Ultron up, and that makes me responsible for all the bad he brought along." -he said neutrally.

I pondered that for a second. "Why'd you do it?"

It was such a loaded question, I wasn't surprised he changed the subject. "You're pretty popular around here."

I raised an eyebrow. "No kidding?"

Stark shook his head. "Nope. You were on threat watch at first, actually. Back in the S.H.I.E.L.D. days. Fury asked us to keep an eye on you."

I scowled. "Yeah, we didn't exactly get along swimmingly."

The man smirked. "Webbingly, more like. Still, Cap thought he saw something in you. And I hate to say it, but Rogers' intuition is right about 80% of the time. So we went with it. Romanoff and Barton voted against considering you for the team, but the rest of us wanted to go for it."

-"Why didn't I get the invite before, then?"

He looked mildly ashamed, for a second. Not an emotion I thought the man could feel, I suppose. "Fury ordered us to steer clear from the whole Lizard thing. Said it was your opportunity to prove yourself. Even he realized it was wrong afterward, when we found out what Connors' plan actually was. He tried to get you on board then, but you clearly weren't having it. Then, of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, we got a second alien invasion, and Ultron happened, and your invitation got lost somewhere in the fallout."

I stayed silent for a few moments. "I can't say I'm happy about how things turn out, but I suppose I'm thankful for the opportunity. I don't know that I could make a difference as an Avenger, but teaching future ones...maybe that's what all this lead up to, y'know?"

He shrugged, then started to fiddle with a holographic design labeled 'cloak_dev'.

Tony cleared his throat. "Fear." -he said, referring to the unanswered question. "Worry...maybe the cool factor, too. I saw a world destroying itself, and wanted to save it without sacrificing anyone in the process."

-"A regular day on Earth, then." -I said, dryly.

He chuckled. "That's just depressing."

I hummed. "Was it the right play?"

He looked away. "Still haven't determined that. Timing was awful, tough."

-"Well, my uncle used to say if we had the capacity for good, then we had the moral obligation to do our best. I see what you mean, about the world - worse, I swing around and see the wrongness every day, up close and personal. And yeah, it's ugly. So, Ultron had the capacity for good that you have, right? Well, the thing about potential is that it can go either way. Win some, lose some...this was just a very bad loss."

He looked at me strangely. "You are _way_ too insightful for your age. Also, for someone who hasn't had a drink."

-"Swinging is great at clearing the mind. You should try it, sometime."

He gave me a sly grin. "I just might. Make myself an Iron Spider suit, maybe."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, sure, but I get half credit. And don't come to me when the fangirls start shipping us."

Tony chuckled. "I see you've met Tumblr."

I grimaced. "And Reddit."

He nodded. "Alright, famous people griping later, let's go wake up your girlfriend."

* * *

I honestly don't know what I expected. Maybe her having some amnesia, or a slap to the face as soon as she saw me at her bedside. Gwen woke up to a roomful of Avengers, her mother, and me.

-"I'm...alive?" -she said, dazed.

Helen Stacy gasped, tearing up. "Yes you are, sweetie...Peter saved your life." -she said, clutching Gwen's hand.

-"But...I did the math...I should be dead." -she said, her hand reaching up to her cheek, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

-"I think I've never been more relieved that you got your math wrong, Gwen." -said her mom, hugging her.

-"Wait…" -she said, focusing on me. My stomach dropped as her gaze turned confused, but was a little bit relieved by her next words. "Why are you only wearing half of your suit in front of my mother?"

I gave a tearful chuckle. "Cat's out of the bag. Apparently for a while."

Mrs. Stacy sighed. "Teenager hormones and secret identities don't mix well, I'd say."

Gwen and I blushed to our roots. She tried to sit up straight, but immediately noticed the problem. "I...can't move my legs."

Dr. Cho stepped in. "Hi, Gwen. I'm Doctor Helen Cho, the Avengers' chief physician. You suffered...some damage in the commotion, I'm afraid."

-"I was...too late. I couldn't stop you in time." -I said, guilt welling up in my throat.

Gwen processed this. She removed the bed sheet, slightly panicked. I guess she thought they'd amputated the limbs, but her color returned once she saw they were intact. "I can't walk anymore, can I?" -she asked, her voice steady but low.

Dr. Cho pursed her lips. "Maybe with some therapy and experimental technology you might regain _some_ mobility, but I'm sorry to say you're correct. Your spine was shattered by the impact."

I wasn't sure if her silence was more heartbreaking than her screaming, but I imagine it would be close. She just looked lost, for a moment, then looked at me. "Come here, Parker."

I grimaced, but obeyed. I walked over to her, and no sooner was I in her reach, she grabbed me and pulled me in for a huge kiss. My world melted a little, and I was only barely aware of some whooping and hollering behind me.

-"Thank you for saving my life, Peter." -she whispered in my ear.

For once in my life, I was speechless. Not for the first time, I thought I didn't deserve this beautiful, loving woman at all.

She smiled at me, her eyes a little puffy but otherwise tearless. "You're my hero, Spider-Man."

I allowed myself a small laugh. "Pretty crappy hero, I'd say."

Gwen looked at me sternly. "Language, Peter!"

The Avengers laughed loudly at the jab. "Oh, she'll fit right in." -said Widow, receiving some nods.

My girlfriend raised an eyebrow. "Fit in? What do you mean? Peter, are they saying…?" -she trailed off.

Sometimes, when schoolwork was light and petty crimes weren't as rampant, I'd swing us up to the roof of a high rise and set up a bit of an urban picnic. We'd daydream about our future, how she'd be stuck at home, having scientific breakthroughs in between bouts of fretting, while I'd be off, gallivanting with the Avengers.

-"Yes, we're saying." -said Tony.

Rogers cleared his throat. "Seeing as how you're underaged, and in a situation where full membership cannot be issued to you, we figured we'd let you in on a little secret. There are a fair few more Avengers than you can probably name. Those you don't know, either work in the shadows, or are too far away to be considered on-duty."

One of Tony's little robots rolled in, holding a gleaming card, hot off the press. "It really goes without saying, but with all in favour, we've decided to name you an honorary Avenger, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails, until such a time as you can become a full team member. Congratulations, Peter Parker."

I gingerly held my Avengers Identi-Card in my hand. It showed an image of me with the mask, with only Spider-Man as my name, but upon sensing my fingerprint, switched to say 'Peter Benjamin Parker', showing a fairly handsome picture of me, face thankfully devoid of bruises.

For once, I was speechless. Good thing Thor was great at improvising.

-"This momentous occasion calls for great revelry and a mighty feast! To the Man of Spiders!" -he bellowed, raising Mjölnir, and causing a lighting bolt to fall on the Tower's lightning rods and leaving us a bit deaf from the sonic boom.

It was really going to get a bit of getting used to. But I couldn't deny it - having the Card in my hands felt the best. Things were finally coming up Parker.

I _really _hope I didn't just jinx myself.

* * *

**Alright, so I had a whole three paragraphs explaining how Harley came to be on the Tower, but it just didn't fit with the story flow. So the short of it is that him and his sister became orphans due to AIM killing their mother. Pepper wants to adopt them, and Tony's pretty ok with it, but both of them being superheroes is a tad problematic. Plus, no one really likes Tony much these days. So he's got custody in the meantime. **

**Also, I didn't forget Thor is supposedly off-world. Since I'm not going with a Ragnarok type thing for the Asgard angle, I'll say he's got good reason to be back so soon. I really hope you'll enjoy that, because I think it's pretty cool.**

**Shoot me some feedback, aye? Until next time! - Darthkvzn**


	10. Chapter 9

**Alright! So, I'm getting to a point in this story in which it'll catch up to a sort of parallel story in Heist Dos-Punto-Cero. Rest assured, there will be crossover, just as soon as I figure out the best way to do it without compromising either story's plotline. I hope you enjoy this chapter! I thought it turned out alright! - Darthkvzn**

* * *

In less than 24 hours, my whole world had completely changed. I'd (sort of) become an Avenger, my girlfriend had a permanent disability, and everyone important to me now knew I was the infamous Web-Slinger.

-"You're trending, Peter." -said Gwen, absently looking at her phone.

Ah, well. Some things remained the same.

We were waiting on Dr. Cho to give us the all-clear, the others off to debrief on the previous battle, resting, or planning for my party, which I still thought was weird. Not the party, but the fact that the Avengers - _my sorta teammates_ \- were throwing it. According to Steve, Avenger parties were actually relatively common, which had Gwen and I extremely excited for it.

-"Yikes. Something good, I hope?"

Gwen hummed in agreement. "#SpideyRant, apparently. Currently waiting on the midday news to see what that is all about. I gotta say, Peter, I'm surprised to see you actually _speaking_ to reporters this time."

I blushed. "Uhh, I just got a little fed up, is all."

-"You sure it wasn't because of the sexy reporter?" -she asked, raising an eyebrow.

My nose scrunched up. "Not really that into redheads, sorry."

Gwen _tsk-_ed. "And here I was thinking about dying my hair sometime soon."

I frowned. "What's wrong with naturally blonde? One IQ joke too many?"

My girlfriend rolled her eyes. She was used to those, letting her (multiple) results do the comeback for her. "No, just...I've been thinking a little."

-"What about?"

-"All the things I haven't done yet. Not, y'know, bucket list type stuff. Just the things I've put off so far. Dying my hair, going parachuting, skinny dipping…" -she trailed off.

-"I didn't know you were such a thrill-seeker." -I deadpanned.

She swatted my head. "_So_ not...just curious. Besides, it's not like I'm going to do much in the next couple of months."

I glanced at her worriedly. "Don't talk that way, Gwen. You weren't valedictorian just for your pretty voice, y'know? You'll go pretty far in life, on your feet or some wheels."

She snorted. "That's the weirdest pep talk I've heard yet. But a good one, anyway. Thank you, Peter." -she said, giving me a kiss.

-"F.R.I.D.A.Y., is that hot? Is it illegal for me to say that's hot?"

-"_I would say it's sweet, Sir. And it would be highly immoral of you to say so, but not illegal, unfortunately._" -answered the AI.

Gwen and I broke the kiss, finding a smug inventor staring back at us. "Nice to officially meet you, Ms. Stacy. Peter's talked a lot about you. To other people, I'm sure."

I groaned, but Gwen chuckled, offering a hand. "It's very nice to meet you too, Mr. Stark. I can't thank you enough for your hospitality."

The man shrugged. "Not a hospital, but close enough. You should really be thanking Dr. Cho, I just paid for everything."

Gwen nodded confusedly. Stark looked at me. "Hate to break you two lovebirds up, but Cap's got an assignment for you, should you choose to accept it."

I raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't have asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to deliver the message?"

-"I mean, I _could've_, but I wouldn't have caught the hot makeout action."

-"_Rude, Sir._"

-"I know, you told me. Anyway. Gwen, I thought you might want to meet someone." -he said, stepping aside to let a certain redhead through.

Virginia Potts was, to say the least, a controversial figure, which I supposed fit the fiancée of Tony Stark. Originally his PA, Ms. Potts had become Stark Industries CEO six months after the birth of Iron Man, holding that position until Félix Álvarez, SI's former Chief Operating Officer, had taken over during the Mandarin crisis, closely cooperating with Tony and Pepper to take the newly rebranded Resilient Inc. in the right direction.

Aside from the obvious controversy of marrying your former boss (and replacing him in the company), Pepper had gotten some flames when she'd revealed she was the woman inside the Rescue armor. Given that Rhodey was, of course, War Machine, many people thought it was very irresponsible of Tony to just give out armors to everyone close to him. He'd adamantly defended Pepper's decision to use the suit, citing that she'd always been in the plans, and that she was uniquely talented to bear the Rescue mantle.

Personally, I wholeheartedly agreed. Rescue had taken to the business with gusto, being spotted around the world, aiding in the aftermath of several natural disasters and coordinating the efforts of the Stark Relief Foundation on site.

Needless to say, Gwen was fangirling hard.

-"It's so nice to meet you, Gwen."

My girlfriend was two steps shy from hyperventilating. "Uhhh it's such an honor Ms. Potts!" -she nearly screamed.

I winced, remembering my similar reaction to meeting Captain America. Tony gave me a knowing smile. "Come on, let's not keep the old man waiting."

* * *

Thor and the Captain were standing in the conference room, quietly discussing something when we walked in. The Asgardian noticed us first, interrupting the conversation and walking over to me. The man was _huge_, almost a head taller than Steve, who was already a head taller than me and Tony.

-"Greetings, Peter. I am pleased to know I have gained a shield brother in my short absence." -he said, clasping my forearm in greeting.

I smiled. "It's awesome to meet you, Thor. Why'd you leave?" -I asked.

Thor smiled sadly. "Trouble brews across the Nine Realms and beyond. I am not certain if I should…" -he said, looking at the Captain for guidance.

Steve nodded. "Peter's honorary Avenger status gets him clearance. You can speak freely around him and Miss Stacy, so long as she signs an NDA when she leaves the Tower."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's very generous of you, thanks."

The super soldier shrugged. "It's only fair. Plus, _some_ people can't hold their tongue very well around here."

Stark smirked. "Guilty as charged. What's the sitch, Goldilocks?"

Thor's chest puffed. "I am here on behalf of the All-Father to announce Asgard's desire to create an...embassy on Midgard, and officially establish a diplomatic relationship between the United Nations of Earth and the Courts of Yggdrasil."

-"Whoa, Space Vikings have ambassadors?" -asked Tony.

Thor gave him a smirk. "Aye. My father has been quite adamant about improving the relations between the Realms, of late. Midgard being the latest to receive this honor is merely due to the complicated nature of diplomacy between our realms."

-"You mean because you guys blew up a small town the first time you visited?" -I deadpanned.

The god boomed a laugh. "That might have had something to do with it, yes. It is Asgard's hope that any tension left over from its people's deeds may be swept away with this action."

Steve smiled good-naturedly. "I think it's a great idea, even if it's a little unexpected. Our people have much to learn from the other. Plus, we get some more Asgardian help, apparently."

-"Indeed, the All-Father has commanded that Lady Sif officially join the Avengers to show his continued support for our endeavors." -he said.

-"Oh, hey, didn't she visit New Mexico like a year ago?" -asked Tony.

The alien cocked his head. "I have no knowledge of this visit...but it makes sense. Lady Sif is the most capable warrior on Asgard. If I were not available to aid, Sif would have been sent in my stead."

I raised my eyebrows, impressed. For Thor, literal god of thunder, to say that, Sif must be quite the badass. The way he fondly talked about her also made me wonder if the two weren't an item, though I somewhat recalled him having a girlfriend - a human one.

-"Looking forward to meeting her. We're going to give Peter here a brief induction class; you interested?" -asked the Captain.

Thor smiled sadly. "My regrets, Captain, but I must attend a reunion with Director Fury. I believe he is expecting you later today as well."

Steve grimaced. "That he is. It can wait, though."

Thor shrugged, which let me tell you, looked _quite_ impressive with those huge shoulder plates. "As you say, Steve. I relish the thought of battling by your side, Spider-Man. Until next time." -he said, and exited regally.

Cap smiled, then pulled up some holographic files. "Alright Peter. Since we want you to be an instructor, I figured I'd give you the basics, just so you don't freak out a little when you see your homework."

Oh, yay. Homework. "Right."

-"No need to look so glum. Just a few basic things you'll have to learn if you want to visit the Compound tomorrow." -said Stark.

I instantly perked up. "Got it."

Captain America pulled up the holographic images of every Avenger. "The Avengers work on a loose-squad based system. There's a leader, but all teammates are encouraged to act on their instincts - add their own flair to the situation. This way, a sense of direction is kept while fully accounting for a hero's abilities."

-"Rogers and I came up with a rough classification system, a sort of rock-paper-scissors to best match our fighters with the enemy. It isn't absolute, but it should help when you're tutoring." -said Stark, and displayed his own file.

-"There's six categories: blaster, tactician, infiltrator, scrapper, bruiser, and generalist. Except for generalist, we consider each of the above vulnerable to the next one. Blasters have the firepower to take down bruisers, and those have the durability to shrug off scrappers. You'll learn more about the advantages and disadvantages later, but like Steve said, it's just a rough approximation of results."

I nodded. "What would I be, for example?"

Steve and Tony said at once: "Infiltrator.", with Cap throwing in: "With a bit of scrapper on the side. You're good at getting in and out of tough situations, and an amazing close-combat fighter."

-"Kinda like Widow, but without all the spy stuff." -clarified Tony.

Right. Not too hard. It made sense, so I tried my hand. "You'd be a tactician...and you a blaster?" -I said at Steve and Tony respectively.

Steve smirked. "Not bad for a first guess. Tony's anything but a glass cannon, so he could also be considered a bruiser, and I'm flexible enough to fit any role I need to. Sort of."

-"Jack of all trades..." -I nodded.

-"And master of none. Point is, the system isn't foolproof. Anyone can be anything, even if they tend towards a certain path. Having this classification is just handy for balancing teams and situations." -he said.

I agreed. Homework was turning out to be quite enjoyable, after all.

That is, until I was given the full file on the Avengers Initiative. Origins, founders, first members (and that was a trip and a half), modern era, candidates, the screening process and the whole Battle of Manhattan. Power sets, potential candidates and future plans. Current members and team standing. What non-Avenger allies we could count on, and which enemies to keep a close look on. On the whole, maybe a thousand pages to read through. Luckily, Steve had given me a week to do so.

Tonight was party night, and I was ready to partay.

* * *

Avengers parties were wild. They apparently involved everyone imaginable, since I saw a few veterans mingling with some Pop star or another. And yes, there was alcohol involved, but no one really got drunk, just buzzed enough to loosen their tongue. Not bad, I'd say.

Gwen and I were sitting on the sidelines, more observing the party than participating in it. Ironically, I had to remain anonymous in my own party, at least until Spider-Man's scheduled appearance later tonight. I was pretty content with keeping my girlfriend company for a while.

-"Hey Peter, you hear about Flash?" -she asked me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Not really, haven't kept up with him since graduation. Busy, y'know?"

Flash could be considered my best friend, but that was saying a lot. We talked easily and the tension from years of enmity was gone, but he still had way too active a social life for me to participate in it. He was cool about it, even covering for me a bit whenever Spider-Man needed to make an unscheduled appearance.

-"He went straight off to boot camp. Said to tell you he was doing it for you." -she said, smiling sadly.

I was surprised - Flash's family had a long history with the military, but he usually hated the idea of joining. His father was very harsh about it, which was part of the insecurity that caused him to turn bully. That he had decided to go on my influence was more than a little heartwarming, but also extremely worrying.

Gwen noticed my pensive face, nodding. "Apparently, his family's talent for shooting is genetic, 'cause he got immediately shipped off."

I grimaced. Iron Man might've mostly eliminated extremists in the Middle East, but there was still a lot of cleanup to be done.

-"Did he say where?"

Gwen shook her head. "Something secret. He didn't say as much, but he looked kinda apprehensive about the whole thing."

A party filled moment passed. "That idiot better keep himself alive."

-"Says the idiot that nearly got himself killed impersonating a human resistance."

I chuckled. "True. Anymore gossip I missed?"

Gwen shrugged. "Not much. Lizzie got pregnant. Jack nearly killed himself when he found out. Oh, and Harry got sent to Ryker's."

I shot her a look at the casual way she talked about her would-be killer. She just rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna tip-toe around it, Peter. I can't even walk to do that."

My expression soured. "Gwen, you shouldn't..."

She glared. "No. No way. You've already learned that lesson. Never make my decisions for me, alright? If I want to deal with my disability with some humor, I _get_ to make fun of my disability. We clear?"

I nodded meekly. She gave me a sweet kiss. "Good. Love you Bug Boy."

"Love you, Smarty Pants."

Gwen wheeled away to join Dr. Foster and her intern, who'd arrived shortly after midday. My girlfriend was a big fan of her work, so I was kinda surprised she'd held off her desire to immediately pounce on the astrophysicist. Gwen might've been a biochemist, but that didn't stop her from reading all sorts of scientific materials.

-"So, what do you think?" -asked Tony, joining me in a neat suit and handing me a glass filled with amber liquid.

I took it. "Party? It's great. Also, should a national hero be encouraging underage drinking?"

Stark rolled his eyes. "Non-alcoholic cider, Parker. I don't exactly condone anyone's alcoholism but my own. And I meant your girl."

I blushed. "Right. Uhmm, well I'm super glad she's still alive."

-"But?"

I looked at her, laughing and talking happily. "She's acting...well, like me, kinda. Gwen is usually all serious and grim when facing adversity. I resort to jokes and quips, y'know?"

Stark narrowed his eyes at me for a moment. "We do that, don't we? I mean, we're still our own person, but I think relationships kind of involve that, right? Mixing it up."

I shot him a dubious look. "I guess?"

He smirked. "Yeah, like...I'm way more responsible since I got Pepper in my life. And she's a little more on the wild side since, too."

The understatement made me chuckle. If getting an arc reactor in your chest and a powered exoskeleton didn't qualify you as wild, I don't know what would.

-"If you can be described in any way as responsible, I'll eat an arrow." -said a sandy-haired man I identified as Hawkeye.

The archer offered me a strong, calloused hand. "Clint Barton."

I shook it. "Peter Parker. It's an honor."

Barton laughed. "I don't remember you thinking it was, before."

I blushed to my roots. "Oh, I'm _so_ sorry!"

He shrugged. "Wasn't the worst way I've met a teammate. Pietro punched the lights outta me, and you should've seen how I looked after meeting Nat."

I laughed easily. Clint had a nice sense of humor, plus a no-nonsense attitude about him. Hawkeye smirked at me. "Laura's gonna love meeting you. Make sure to make some time to visit!" -he said, walking over to the bar.

I looked quizzically at Tony. "Laura?"

Tony snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right! You're still spoiler free. Laura is the matron of the Barton clan."

My eyes widened. "You mean Hawkeye has a wife? And it's _not _Black Widow?"

Stark laughed out loud. "Oh no, my man. Clintasha is old news. So is Brutasha, for that matter. Clint's been married long enough to have _toddlers_." -he said, shuddering.

-"I can't believe I signed an NDA...the gossip potential in this place is worth millions." -I joked.

-"You'd know, wouldn't you? Speaking of which, I believe it's time for the main guest to arrive."

I sighed, downing the virgin cider in one gulp. Here went nothing, I supposed. Careful not to let anyone spot me, I slipped to an empty room, changing to my brand new StarkTech suit.

I was honestly baffled that Tony had whipped it up in just a day, but then again, the Avengers had had me in their sights for a while. Following the contrasting theme the team was going for, my new suit's design was a little darker, the red not as shiny and the blue almost black. The mask remained mostly unchanged, and the web-shooters were now made with state of the art materials and several new firing options, including nets, taser webs, and web bombs. A utility belt with my spider logo had also been added, ready to be filled with spare biocable cartridges, field medicine, and more. The suit itself was a titanium nanoweave, and the reinforcing black web pattern was formed by carbon nanotubes.

"It's no adamantium shield or vibranium armor, but it'll do.", Tony had said when he presented it to me. I may or may not have given a shrill scream when I saw it.

The suit had a cool interior material I hadn't gotten the specs of, and it was much easier to put on and wear than simple spandex. Tony had assured me it was also completely electricity proof, since he'd heard of my fight with Max.

All in all, Spider-Man was back and better than ever. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling the upgrade was just in time.

* * *

**Not gonna lie, that classification system is straight out of Marvel: Avengers Alliance, the Facebook game. I am thoroughly addicted to it, and several ideas have sprouted from it. Quick question. Who here remembers what's wrong with Odin, last we saw him? Who can see what the problem might be with Asgard wanting to establish diplomacy with Earth? Things should be quite interesting on that front!**

**Anyway, next chapter, Peter finally visits the Compound - and gets a glimpse at his future job, plus meets the rest of the Avengers. Until next time! Reviews are always welcome and appreciated! - Darthkvzn**


	11. Chapter 10

**Answering my latest (guest) review on this story, yes, Spider-Man is super paranoid about his secret ID. Buuut, we're talking Amazing Spider-Man Peter Parker, not comic books Peter Parker. Yes, his ID is a priority, but the whole point of this story is that, while Spider-Man is a great superhero (one might even say amazing), he can be an even greater Avenger. Hence their wish for him to train the next gen of heroes. Plus, having his ID be a secret to no one is kind of a running gag by now. **

**Anyway, an apology. I know I promised the Compound on this one, but the story took a minor detour, crashed into some actual plot, and spawned a ton of new ideas. See more at the footnote. Enjoy! - Darthkvzn**

* * *

-"This feels like déjà vu. I mean, the punks are new, but..." -said Rhodey, receiving some nods from the senior Avengers.

The party was done, and the Avengers, plus their sort of 'Inner Circle', Gwen and I, were all sitting in a large living room, staring at Thor's hammer innocently lying atop a coffee table.

-"How so?" -asked silver haired guy, who I'd learned was Pietro Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch's twin. His limp came from some pretty grievous injuries he'd sustained in the Battle of Sokovia. That he was alive was a miracle of will and modern medicine.

-"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." -said Steve, sadly.

-"It's still totally a trick." -said Hawkeye.

-"It is much more than that, my friend." -said Thor, unusually glum.

I blinked. "What's with the creepy voice acting?"

Tony smirked sadly. "You see, young spider, the Avengers have many traditions to uphold. One of them is shawarma, as you know."

I snickered. As part of my 'initiation', everyone, even Steve, had asked me to eat a whole shawarma dish and tell them what I thought of it. The thing wasn't bad, but it was pretty...meh. I told them as much, and got happy shouts and whoops for my trouble. Apparently, you didn't get to join if you didn't think shawarma was precisely 'meh'.

I nodded. Steve continued on. "Another is a Mjölnir lifting competition. Pretty useless, since nobody but Vision and Thor can actually do it, but still fun."

Quicksilver snapped his fingers. "That is why you were stunned that day. And why I could not hold the hammer?"

Thor nodded. "Mjölnir is enchanted by the All-Father's strongest magics to avoid its use by the unworthy - no offense."

The speedster immediately appeared at the table, pulling on it with all his strength. The glorified mallet refused to budge at all, leaving Pietro with a sore ego and a frown on his face.

I sniggered a little. "Why is that so...haunting, though?" -asked Gwen.

Thor glanced at Tony, who sighed. "Last time we did this, Ultron just so happened to be born. Made his grand entrance just behind you two."

I sucked in a breath; the idea of Ultron _alone_ was terrifying enough - an artificial intelligence hellbent on destroying humanity, and smart enough to do so. That his first appearance had literally happened behind them, breaking up a silly situation like this one was nightmare inducing.

Judging by the bags and dark circles under most of their eyes, I surmised that assumption was pretty much on the money.

Stark had an anguished look on his face, which Steve must've noticed. "Ultron was a mistake. But so was pinning the whole blame on you."

-"I _created_ him, Cap."

Steve shook his head. "I know you're not one to take credit for something you didn't create, so cut it out. You found him. Modified him to suit your needs. Even named him. But Ultron was inside the sceptre from the start."

Tony grimaced. "I still let him happen."

-"You absolutely did. There's no excusing it - you went behind our backs and messed with something you didn't fully understand."

-"I know, I got throat lifted by Thor saying exactly that."

I winced, and so did the god of thunder. "I fear my actions were...also inexcusable, no matter my thoughts and intentions. I recently lost my brother, and nearly lost my lady Jane due to my own mistakes. I did not wish to see you go down a similar path, nor did I appreciate the thought of losing yet more brothers and sisters."

"As an Aesir, I will likely live for many more millenia, assuming I am not felled in combat. Gaining mortal friends...it comes easily, but at a cost. I will remain nearly unchanged, but you will wither and die. And I cannot do anything to change this. I should know better than to form such bonds with you all, but I have always been headstrong. I cannot fathom a life without the Avengers anymore." -finished the god, staring intensely at his glass.

A few moments of solemn silence went by, and then Wanda piped up. "Well, with Peter's assistance, perhaps you will not need to."

I blushed to my roots. "That's an awful lot of trust you're placing on my shoulders."

She shrugged. "I have beheld your mind, and it is beautiful. A little juvenile, perhaps. But beautiful all the same."

-"Don't you dare fall in love with my boyfriend's mind!" -said Gwen in mock jealousy.

We all laughed. "I don't think you should be worried about Ms. Maximoff's preferences." -said the Falcon, amused.

Wanda blushed scarlet, stealing a glance at the Vision, who merely smiled.

Tony blinked, then got an enormous smile. "Oh _my_, Ms. Maximoff. Been a little naughty, have we?" -he said, wagging his eyebrows.

The Scarlet Witch groaned, burying her head in the pillows. "I hate all of you."

Natasha cooed. "Aww, Tony...she's warming up to you."

Stark chuckled, turning to Pepper. "I think I'm already going to have to give The Talk! I'm excited now. Excitement is happening."

Pepper swatted him playfully, looking at the rest of us apologetically. "He's like this at night too, if you know what I mean."

We all groaned or feigned vomiting. "God, TMI." -said Rhodey.

Pepper just planted a huge kiss on Tony.

The world, it got weirder a little bit every day. I remember the first time I heard about Captain America, about this great hero who'd gone through a procedure to make him the greatest of them all. Then came the flying metal suit piloted by a billionaire, dispensing righteous justice to the tunes of AC/DC and Black Sabbath. Giant green monsters, spies, gods, and aliens followed suit.

Then there was me, a gangly kid from Queens who learned a very important lesson about responsibility in the hardest way possible.

With robot armies, neo-nazi terrorists, and an incoming turn against us from our own government, it was ridiculously comforting to see these people, this highly dysfunctional, yet caring family of misfits reminisce and joke around. Sure, the mood wasn't always festive. And yeah, who knows if we'd still be around in a year. But, at the the end of the day, this is what made our struggle worth it. Coming home black and blue to the people you love - to your motivation as a superhero.

As Gwen pulled me in for a kiss of her own, I couldn't help but think '_Bring it on, world._'

* * *

As it turns out, the world sure knows how to bring it. A blessedly fitful night of sleep in one of Avenger Tower's guest rooms (Tony assured me a full co-ed floor was in the works for us younglings) was abruptly interrupted by FRIDAY's lovely voice.

-"_Captain Rogers is requesting your presence in the common area, Mr. Parker."_

I groaned mentally, but shook it off. One did not simply say no to Captain America, regardless of the call coming at 6 in the freaking morning.

-"Masked?"

-"_I would advise so_."

I raised an eyebrow, but figured there was a reason for it. I pulled on the new suit (_so_ much easier than spandex, thank God for small miracles), checking everything was in working order, before heading out.

I found every Avenger fully armed and armored in the Assembly Room, as Tony called it. They all bore very grim expressions. Except for Natasha, of course, who just seemed bored.

-"Did I miss a sternly worded memo?" -I asked, still adjusting my mask.

Tony snorted. "If it were up to me, I'd leave you to your icky spider-dreams. But we've got about seventy two developing situations and it'll be all hands on deck."

Nick Fury walked in behind me, followed by a serene, balding man, and Maria Hill, who I hadn't really met yet.

-"What? No punches to the face?" -asked the balding man.

Almost everyone rolled their eyes. "Natasha's known you're alive ever since the Chitauri thing. And the rest of us found out on the data dump." -said Steve. The suited man looked about three levels above dumbstruck.

Nat shrugged. "Sure, there was a lot of angst and a lot of things got broken, but we're past it."

An arrow flew past them all, whizzing just by the man's head, who immediately dove for cover. Pepper piped up. "Well, most of us. Clint's still pretty mad about it."

-"Right. What is going _on_!?" -I asked.

The balding man rose, offering a hand. "Sorry about that. Phil Coulson. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Big fan of your work, Mr. Parker." -he said with a dry, apologetic smile.

I cursed under my breath, but figured if Fury knew who I was, chances were that many others in S.H.I.E.L.D. also knew.

-"Wait a minute. Aren't you…?" -I said to Fury, who raised an eyebrow.

-"Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.? I am."

Coulson smirked at my confused silence. "Director Fury is in charge of Superhuman Affairs, based on the Helicarrier. I run the Intelligence side of things. He gets the heroes, I get the spies. Unfortunately. Hill's in charge of media, though, so she's worst off."

Hill cleared her throat. "We all know how much you like to babysit, Coulson, but we're kind of off-topic." -she said, turning to face the heroes. "Avengers, as of twenty minutes ago, what remained of the sovereign nation of Sokovia was absorbed by its neighbor, Latveria. Their leader, Doctor Victor Von Doom, marched in a legion of his troops, both human and mechanical, and chased away the UN troops with the promise of Latverian support yesterday. Today, he and the former Sokovian president announced just how expansive that support is."

As she said it, footage of the event played: a massive, Thor-sized man in sinister dark gray armor, oddly covered by a green hood and tunic shook hands with the president, surrounded by at least a dozen robotic troops bearing the Latverian insignia and some pretty wicked glowing green eyes. You'd figure I would know about such an...extravagant leader.

The twins gasped. "_No_...Von Doom...he is the one that caused the conflict that killed our parents." -said Wanda.

Coulson pursed his lips. "Victor Von Doom is a very cunning, very _patient_ man. He's been looking for the chance to expand his territory for the last 15 years or so, spreading discord and causing a civil war, but the Battle of Sokovia brought him the perfect opportunity. I imagine the annexation was forced out of the government. Doom is a tyrant, but he's also _very_ wealthy."

Steve considered the situation. Fury cut him off before he could speak. "We're not stopping it, Captain. We can't - he's gone through all the legal channels, and even the U.N. are glad someone's taking care of Sokovia. They are asking, however, that three Avengers be present in the official ceremony, just in case."

The soldier grimaced, but nodded. "Pepper, Wanda and Vision, I want you to go. Pepper has excellent diplomacy skills, Wanda has great crowd-control abilities, and Vision could go toe-to-toe with Ultron. I'm hoping Doom's not any harder than that."

I noticed a few of the other's raising an eyebrow at the explanation, but Tony winked at me and I got it - he was explaining things for my benefit. I have to say, I was a little flattered.

The three walked out to the balcony and took off, presumably going to the Compound to catch a Quinjet, since the Tower's hadn't yet been replaced.

-"Next on the agenda?" -asked Tony.

Natasha spoke up. "Bruce's borrowed Quinjet may have been found near Fiji, but the Hulk has been spotted in China - the catch? A _red_ Hulk was seen close behind him. I don't need to tell you just how catastrophic this could be."

Nearly everyone in the room paled - Natasha's grim tone was about as unsettling as the situation itself. The Hulk's PR was around floor-level at the moment, and I knew better than most just how dangerous Banner's involuntary alter-ego was, having been given access to the Avenger files.

-"Anything that's got Banner running is a disaster waiting to happen. Romanoff - you, Thor and Stark go. Veronica online yet?" -Steve asked Stark, who nodded.

-"Just got a fresh coat of paint. Tell you what, though, we gotta get Betty on the line."

Steve's gaze hardened, glancing at Romanoff. The russian assassin just nodded. "Lullaby didn't work last time. I'd appreciate the insurance."

The supersoldier pursed his lips, but nodded. "Do we have a location on Dr. Ross?"

Coulson and Stark both said 'I do'. "Aww, look, they really do love each other." -said Pepper.

Phil shot her an exasperated look. "Dr. Ross is currently under lock and key at the General's manor. I can have her extracted by my team in about two hours."

Tony scoffed. "Your team, right. Bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D. fanboys..."

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Sure, just Barton with the lingering issues." -he said, getting an Iron Man Glare (patent pending) for his trouble.

-"Please refrain from dissing on my team, Mr. Stark.

Tony was just about to retort when FRIDAY shouted. "_Boss, Rhino is real! He or she has just made landfall on 6th._"

I blinked. "Uhh, did I hear that correctly? The whole _Rhino is real_ bit?"

-"Unfortunately. There were reports of a massive rhinoceros romping around the docks about an hour ago. Guess they weren't pipe dreams after all."

I shook my head. "Right. Well, since I already have one animal-themed villain under my belt, I'll bite the bullet on this one."

Tony snorted. "That sounds _so _wrong. But fine. Take your pick of teammates."

-"Teammates?" -I asked meekly.

Steve looked at me oddly. "Honorary or not, you _are_ an Avenger. We might not always be available to fight street crime with you, but supervillains are usually a team effort."

Thank goodness for the mask, because I was gaping like an asthmatic fish.

Hawkeye took pity on me or something, because he put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't have an axe, but you have my bow. I'm not needed at home until nighttime anyway." -he said, shrugging.

-"You are such _dad_." -said Pietro, mirth tainting his voice.

-"Can it, punk. Get your ass on a Quinjet and get back to the farm, Lila needs a target for practice." -he said. Pietro groaned exaggeratedly, but jogged over to the hangar, where an old model Quinjet (the S.H.I.E.L.D. standard I'd stuck to way back when) was currently landing.

Falcon looked at me sheepishly. "I'd help, too, but I'm needed in California. Guess you'll have to settle for Captain America."

-"Woe is me." -I deadpanned.

-"Actually, Captain Rogers is needed in the Compound. A new candidate for the Initiative has come up." -said Coulson.

My eyebrows raised. There were a lot of heroes nowadays - you have your Doctor Stranges, your Daredevils, and your Iron Fists. The Avengers rarely considered new and upcoming heroes not because they thought themselves somehow better, but rather because first contact had gone wrong, their fighting style didn't match the Avengers', or maybe their moral compass wasn't all that well adjusted yet. I got lucky - Uncle Ben made sure I realized just what responsibilities I would have.

Captain America nodded. "This Rhino souds dangerous, but I think you've handled worse. Don't hesitate to call if you need reinforcements, though."

I nodded gratefully. That Identi-card wasn't just for getting into nightclubs, it seemed.

Steve gave the room a wide glance. "We've all got our missions, some more critical than others. So I'll keep this brief: we're facing enemies both known and mysterious. Tyrants, mad men...even our own friends. So give your best, protect the innocent, and represent the 'A' on your badges and all that it stands for."

* * *

**That was the last bit of Ultron-related Stark grief, I promise. For a while, at least. Also? I love the nonchalant reveals of Coulson's survival. I hope you liked my version. On that note, my usage of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. disregards the entirety of season 2 except for the whole 'Skye gets superpowers' bit, because I think it's awesome. Inhumans are involved, but it's RADICALLY different to the show. I don't like season 2, sorry.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Do you think I should make some tiny spin-off stories with the other missions I mentioned this chapter? (i.e. going for Banner, visiting Latveria, meeting Skye and Coulson's team, etc) or just gloss over it? Your call! - Darthkvzn**


	12. Interlude The Second

**THIS IS AN INTERLUDE PEOPLE, Peter's narration continues in the next chapter. For now, let's hang out with Gwen for a bit. This chapter will eventually make some people happy. Enjoy! - Darthkvzn**

* * *

-"You sure you want to stay here?" -asked my mom, sparing a nervous glance at the lavish room I was in.

-"I do. Besides, Dr. Cho wanted to run some more tests. See what can be done about...y'know." -I trailed off, staring accusingly at my useless legs.

My mom's eyes glazed a bit, but she sobered up quickly enough. She walked over to me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight bear hug. "Keep us in the loop, sweetie. I'll bring you some clothes later today."

I smiled. "I wish my brothers could visit…"

-"Oh, honey, don't worry. I've got enough stories about the Avengers to keep them entertained for at least a week. I'll send them your love." -she said, sparing a last, meaningful look at me. I shooed her gently, and she held up her hands in defeat.

Once alone, I cried.

I tried to put on a brave face for Peter. I really did. And no, I didn't blame him at all for my situation. Like I'd said, my decisions were my own, and so were the consequences. Damned if they hadn't put half of my life plans on indefinite hiatus, though.

College in London was scrapped for sure. I'm sure they would've understood my situation if I wanted to explain, but the truth was, I didn't want to go anymore. I hate to say it, but I felt...lesser, now, a very unpleasant feeling for someone who'd prided herself on being her own, tough-as-nails, independent woman. Realistically, I knew I could still be the Nobel-worthy scientist I wanted to be. Tons of people with disabilities had managed to achieve their dreams in life. It just...didn't seem quite possible at the moment for me.

Ms. Potts ('Pepper, sweetie, I insist') had talked to me about this. Her experience with the arc reactor her chest was now cursed with. How she'd coped with being the victim of an attempted murder, and what she could tell me about her own experience. She'd warned me, about the depression, the anger, and the hopelessness of your body -_your being_ \- being fundamentally changed.

It helped. It wasn't nearly enough, and my illogical mind was screaming that _she could still walk, even fight crime_, but it did a little bit to assuage my fears.

-"_Miss Stacy, is there anything I can do for you?_" -came the worried disembodied voice of FRIDAY.

I wiped my puffy eyes. "No, no. Thank you FRIDAY, I'll be fine."

The AI hummed like she didn't believe a thing I said, but let the matter lie. I picked up my phone, returned to me by Colonel Rhodes along with me clothing, cleaned and pressed, and completely devoid of my blood, which somehow made it a little bit more disturbing. I had about a dozen missed voice mails, most of which were from Mom. One was from Flash, though, which surprised her, since he was supposedly off in deployment.

She pressed play on it. "_Hey Gwen. Heard about your...thing. I'm so sorry. Pete tells me you're better, though. I can't say I know how hard this is for you, but I want you to know you're so much braver than I could ever be. And I'm in the goddamn Army, so you know that means something. Take care of yourself, Knee Socks._"

I smiled fondly. Flash was a jerk, but he'd found his heart of gold in time for his condition not to be permanent.

-"Worried friends, Lady Gwen?" -asked a man softly.

I turned to find the God of Thunder giving me a small smile. So, about a regular, human-sized smile.

-"Mine and Peter's. He's off fighting a war he shouldn't have to." -I said.

The asgardian nodded. "Ah. Such is the case for many, not only here on Earth."

Awkward silence followed after my nod. "We've met, y'know?" -I blurted out.

He smiled. "Yes, of course. I was not certain you would remember. I assure you my addiction for the Poptarts has come under some measure of control since then."

Oh. Thor was joking. With me. I laughed a little harder than was appropriate, but he was cool with it.

-"Good to know. I guess we'll cancel the intervention."

Thor boomed a laugh. I noticed he was holding a small, intricately carved box made of a dull, golden metal I'd never seen before. The thunderer nodded, handing it to me.

-"What is it?" -I asked, curious.

-"Open it, and find out. It is a gift from the All-Father."

My eyes widened. Why would the king of Asgard send _me_ of all people a gift? Thor must've noticed my confusion, because he gave me a reassuring smile.

-"You wonder why he would bestow upon you a gift." -he stated.

I nodded slowly, glancing upwards. "It's not that I don't appreciate it, but I'm just..._me_."

-"I cannot claim to know the motivation for this particular gift. Lord Odin very rarely turns his gaze to Midgard, even if that has increased, of late. But I do know that he has bestowed great gifts upon worthy mortals every few centuries." -he mused, remembering some hidden story.

I didn't know what to say, so I just acted. I opened the box, which revealed a small, black stone with a crude spider design and some nordic runes etched into it.

Well. For a box that fancy, the pebble was _slightly_ underwhelming. Thor must've been used to mortals not getting asgardian gestures, because he gave me a knowing grin.

-"The simplicity of your gift's design betrays its power. You hold a Norn stone, though not one I've seen before. They are objects of great power blessed by our gods." -he said reverently.

_Whoa_. Pebble or not, having something blessed by some god's gods was somewhat impressive.

-"I don't know what to say."

-"Nor do I. It is an unprecedented gift, capable of great evil or good. I do not yet know its purpose, but I have no doubt you will use it responsibly." -he said, still in awe.

I shook my head. "I can't accept this, Thor. It's too much." -I said, trying to give it back.

The man rejected it. "Regardless of how powerful and dangerous Norn stones are, they are not to be given lightly. The All-Father may not see as much as Heimdall, but he does know more of what the future holds. I cannot fathom that my father gave you such a gift without there being a condition to it."

I grabbed the stone. It didn't feel any different than others I'd held, I supposed, nor was it the most beautiful little rock I'd ever seen. But it was cool, and, as I soon discovered, was attached to a chain to be worn as a choker.

-"What's the catch, then?" -I asked.

Thor shrugged those massive shoulders. "If I knew I could not tell. Odin usually hands these blessings himself, but I fear his old age restricts his movements. His impending visit to Midgard will likely send him into the Odinsleep shortly after."

I nodded as if I had half a clue what he was talking about. He found this satisfactory, apparently, because he bowed over his hammer and walked away after that. I wasn't sure exactly what I should do about it, but wearing it seemed like the diplomatic thing to do. I mean, I didn't know if Odin was watching, after all.

I rolled over to the rather large bathroom. I looked a mess, still clad in nothing but a hospital gown and some lip balm. I put the collar around my neck, and when the clasp closed the circle, darkness consumed me.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER. Yep, went there. Any guesses or theories as to what is going on with Gwen's side of the story? Share them with me! We'll be back to our regularly scheduled Spidey next chapter - Darthkvzn**


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